When 22-year-old Vishnu Singh of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo developed a fever on October 5, his parents never realized that it would turn out to be malaria and lead to his death.
He had just returned from a trip to the mining town of Bartica, in the Essequibo River where he spent about five days, when he developed flu-like symptoms [fever and backache]. But yet, not even the doctors suspected that he had contracted the parasite.
The most hurtful part for his mother, Bibi Singh, a teacher and his father, Vishnu Singh (Sr.), a building contractor, is that despite visiting several places, including private and public health facilities, they only found out about the malaria when it was already too late.