QUESTION I have been working a 4-week rotation between the USA and East Kalimantan (Borneo) for about 2 years. While on Borneo, I am in the jungle much of the time. I have never contracted malaria. I am embarrassed to say I thought I had been inoculated for malaria when I first started working here. I just spent 10 days in a hospital last month fighting a blood degenerating viral infection not … [Read more...]
Malaria in Vietnam, Thailand, Bali
QUESTION: I am 5 months pregnant and I was thinking about going on holiday to Vietnam, Thailand, or Bali. What is the risk of malaria in this countries? RESPONSE: Malaria transmission occurs in all of the nations you mention, though certain areas within these nations are lower risk. You can find out more about specific regions and local antimalarial resistance patterns at the … [Read more...]
New Partners Join the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN)
The Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN) has announced two new Partner Institutions have joined the organization: The Mahidol Vivax Research Center and the Malaria Research Centre, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The Mahidol Vivax Research Center (MVRC) established in March 2011 is dedicated to the study of Plasmodium vivax and non falciparum malaria. Its establishment at Mahidol … [Read more...]
Paludrine/Avloclor Anti Malaria Travel Pack
QUESTION Is this anti malaria travel pack suitable for Borneo? ANSWER This kit is NOT appropriate for preventing malaria in Borneo. Avloclor contain chloroquine phosphate, and some types of malaria present in Borneo are resistant to chloroquine. The CDC recommends that travelers to Malaysian or Indonesian Borneo should use atovaquone-proguanil (Paludrine contains proguanil, but the … [Read more...]
Of Macaques and Men
Plasmodium knowlesi —a new challenge in the Roll Back Malaria Program? Mention of malaria often conjures images of infants hospitalized in Africa. Although most deaths from malaria are children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa, there are many different types of malaria that put over half of the world’s population at risk in subtropical and tropical regions worldwide. There have historically … [Read more...]