Friday, March 21, 2014 4:39am ET by  
Comments (0)

, , , , , , , ,

Cheryl Cole recalls malaria ordeal: "At one point I was given 24 hours to live"

Cheryl Cole has reflected on her battle with malaria, admitting that at one point she was about one day away from death.

The singer contracted the illness four years ago during a holiday in Tanzania.

She was left fighting for her health in hospital before thankfully recovering from the disease.

Speaking to Sport Relief about her ordeal, the singer said: 

"When I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief five years ago it was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. The motivation lay in knowing it could help in eradicating malaria and ultimately saving lives by providing mosquito nets. I didn’t for one minute think that only a year later I would get malaria myself and become so ill that at one point I was given 24 hours to live."

The X Factor UK judge added: "It was the scariest thing you could ever imagine for me and for my friends and family. The pain I felt and went through, it’s what so many people go through, all because they don’t have a mosquito net which could save their life. I was lucky; I had the best care I could get. Some people are not so lucky. A £5 mosquito net could keep a child safe and really does help."

Malaria is commonly transmitted via a bite from an infected mosquito.

Watch Cheryl Cole talk about her ordeal below: