roman soldier

marcus aurelius
a mosquito drilled him
the fatal wound

______
gw2010

I recently visited Corbridge (UK) and Carnuntum (AUT) on the trail of the great Roman soldier and philosopher. At Carnuntum I was bitten from head to foot by many mosquitoes. Fortunately for me the Carnuntum mosquitoes are relatively harmless these days. Another fate is continually bestowed upon millions of poor people, especially children, in Africa and elsewhere.

In 1944 my father-to-be contracted malaria from a mosquito bite during war service as an engineer in India. He received the appropriate medical treatment and, luckily for me as well, he survived. Is it beyond our power in 2010AD to provide proper medicine and care for the needy and the deserving when and where it is required? If we can rescue irresponsible bankers from bankruptcy we can surely rescue the poor and vulnerable from the mosquito.