Seattle Biomedical Research Institute Needs You!
Next hottest travel trend you can feel free to pass up
We love the idea of vocation vacations, volunteer holidays and greening up your travel for the good of Mama Earth. But can you imagine taking a trip to be infected with malaria? Come to Seattle this year and you could be in for more than you bargained for.
The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute will be asking volunteers to hold out their hand for slug of 
Ethics of Malaria Testingmalaria from infected mosquitoes. Of course, researchers will do all in their power to make sure the mosquitoes aren't infected with anything else - but no promises.
If you're a sucker for punishment (why else would you do something like this) there's also no guarantee or additional compensation if you have an allergic reaction to the treatment drugs or die from unforeseen complications. Granted, you'll get between $2,000 and $4,000 for your trouble, but that will only cover missed time from work or traveling to and from the site.
We'll give you that there's solid research to support this kind of testing - especially when you consider how many people die from malaria in third world countries. But releasing malaria into a non-malaria area could be akin to opening Pandora's Box for a quick look-see.
"We're particularly excited by the center's location in Seattle, a community where many people have an interest in global health issues and, as a result, are willing to volunteer for such an important cause..." Dr. Christian Loucq, Malaria Vaccine Initiative director said in a statement Wednesday, according to the Seattle Times.
The FDA has not yet approved the testing.
Would you belly up to the bar for a shot of malaria? Why?
