One such laboratory is the Tropical Diseases Research Unit at Lambaréné in Gabon on the west coast of central Africa. The research unit is part of the famous hospital built on the banks of the Ogooué River in 1913 by Doctor Albert Schweitzer. Very much an outpost in the jungle, Lambaréné is on the forefront of malaria research. Its team includes people from Gabon, other African nations, Europe and the Middle East. And it's headed up by parasitology professor Peter Kermsner of the University of Tübingen in Germany.

 

 

“Malaria is a serious problem in the whole of the tropical world, especially in Africa, or here in Gabon. About 400 million cases are seen every year, and about one to two million, especially children in Africa, die because of malaria. We see around ten cases a day, sometimes twenty, thirty malaria cases a day. A year round we see 5000-8000 malaria cases in our unit.”

 

 

 Staffers from the research unit regularly visit villages throughout Gabon, they also investigate ways to control the spread of malaria in these villages. When they find suspected cases, they bring the patient back to the Schweitzer hospital. But patients also find their own way here, sometimes from far away. The hospital treats thousands of Gabonese every year, saving lives and doing continuous research into the causes and prevention of malaria. An important part of Schweitzer’s village hospital concept is the accommodation of patients and their relatives. For about $ 13, a patient receives a package that includes a doctor's consultation, medical tests and medication.

 

 

Hospitalized patients may also bring along their family or friends. The pediatric ward is filled with children, 1/4 to 1/3 of them malaria cases. In the shadow of malaria's many fatalities, the doctors of the research unit sometimes take turns working around the clock and hoping that one day soon, a vaccine will be found.