QUESTION I am someone who has traveled to malaria-infected areas in the past and will do so again in the future. I also happen to have a form of musculr dystrophy (myotonic dystrophy type II) that, among other things, causes me to experience frequent episodes of muscular pain. Thus, the mere presence of muscle pain, in my particular case, can tell little about whether I might have malaria. … [Read more...]
Is malaria a problem for a tourist in Guyana?
QUESTION Is malaria a problem for a tourist to Guyana? ANSWER Yes, malaria is something you should be aware of when travelling to Guyana. Transmission occurs in all areas under 900m in Guyana, including Georgetown. If you are visiting these areas, you should consider taking prophylactic medication to prevent malaria, such as atovaquone-proguanil (sold as Malarone), doxycycline or … [Read more...]
Malaria in Namibia or South Africa
QUESTION Is there a risk of catching malaria in Namibia or South Africa ANSWER Yes. According to the CDC, malaria is present in the following areas of Namibia: Kunene, Ohangwena, Okavango, Omaheke, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, and Otjozondjupa and the Caprivi Strip. In addition, malaria is present in South Africa in northeastern KwaZulu-Natal Province as far south as the Tugela River, … [Read more...]
Are Anti-malaria pills necessary if no mosquito bites?
QUESTION We had a weekend in the Kruger Park and all of us took anti malaria pills beforehand. None of us was bitten or even saw a mosquito, do we need to carry on taking them for so long? ANSWER Since you say "so long", I assume you are either taking doxycycline or Lariam, both of which are taken for four weeks after leaving the malarial area. Unless you are experiencing severe side … [Read more...]
Post-infection Malaria Medication
QUESTION My daughter has recently returned from a trip to Borneo. Even with aggressive preventive anti-mosquito behaviour (long sleeves/pants, deet applications and mosquito netting) but not anti-malarial medication, she received over 30 bites. She is now exhibiting some symptoms (body aches, headache and severe fatigue). She has an appointment at the doctors in 2 days time. Is there some kind … [Read more...]
Malaria in Australia and Bali
QUESTION Is Australia, Bali or Tasmania in the malaria affected area? ANSWER While malaria used to be endemic in parts of Australia (not Tasmania—it is too cold), the country was declared to be free of malaria transmission in 1981. However, several hundred cases are reported in Australia every year, mainly brought back by travellers returning from other regions, such as south-east … [Read more...]
Malaria in Haiti
QUESTION I just recently returned from Senegal, 60 days ago, in which I had taken Malaria medicine; Chloroquine. I am heading to Haiti in 5 days, and wondering if I am in need of taking Malaria medicine again, or was the time frame close enough that it would be fine to go without. ANSWER You are only protected against malaria while you are taking the anti-malarial prophylactic medicine. … [Read more...]
Does Malaria Still Exist?
QUESTION does malaria still exist? ANSWER Yes, malaria still exists, and is responsible for 250 million cases of illness every year, of which about 700,000 result in death. So it is a very serious global health problem! Some countries, such as the United States, have managed to successfully eliminate malaria through a combination of vector control strategies (i.e. spraying for … [Read more...]
Prevention of Malaria
QUESTION How do I prevent malaria? ANSWER There are a number of ways to prevent malaria. These can be placed into two categories: medication and vector protection. For medication, there are drugs you can take to prevent the malaria parasite from developing after someone is bitten by an infected mosquito. These drugs are known as "chemoprophylaxis". There are several different kinds, … [Read more...]
Malaria Recurrence
QUESTION My friend suffers malaria due to plasmodium falsciparum at least every two weeks. It has been treated with coartem, artequine, artesunate+fansida, quinine/quinimax since 2004 without any relief at all. It returns a week or two later and lab tests attest to same. What else should be done? ANSWER It is rare for someone living in an endemic area to suffer so regularly from … [Read more...]