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Malaria prevention and treatment:
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matterunomama
Dec 26, 2006, 3:28 PM
Views: 810
Registered: Mar 11, 2005
Posts: 419
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Do not take a chance on getting malaria, it is a nasty illness. In the US it is considered a potential medical emergency. Worldwide 500 million people a year become acutely ill and One million DIE--although those deaths are mostly children in sub-saharan Africa, it is a very unpleasant illness. People who live in endemic areas are only 'semi-immune', meaning when they get the disease, they are at lower risk for complications and serious disease; they are still most emphatically ill when they get it, like a bad flu. They got their original infection either through a mosquito or were born with it transmitted thru the mothers blood. You can also get it like you do HIV, thru needles or blood transfusion.
PREVENTION/PROPHYLAXIS IS NOT PERFECT! if you go to a malaria prone area you should also avoid mosquito bites with protective clothing, bed nets and the chemical DEET.
THERE IS NO ONE BEST DRUG. The choice of prevention/prophylaxis and treatment drug depends on where you are traveling, resistance patterns, and special problems with each drug. Personally I would go to a travel medicine specialist to get the prescription.
The one that with the wierd psychiatric effects is called Larium. The generic name is Mefloquine. The drugs are expensive but buy them in the US, the foreign ones can be substandard or even dangerous. I was shocked to find that my insurance plan doesn't cover prevention of malaria, though they kindly agreed to cover treatment if we got ill (gee, thanks)
So, go to a doctor if you are going where there is malaria. OK, I'm stepping off my soapbox now....
Current information about country specific risks and recommendations are on the CDC website:
www.cdc.gov/travel/malariadrugs2.htm
This is actually the website the physician or PA would use to figure out which drugs will work where you are going, then judge which one /combo is best based on the sideeffects and how religious you are likely to be in taking them.
Have a great trip!
(This post was edited by matterunomama on Dec 26, 2006, 3:33 PM)
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