QUESTION Healthy 30 year old male, arrived in West Africa 2 weeks ago, using doxycycline as prophyaltic but not systematically—I know I missed a day or two, and had not taken it before arriving; lots of mosquito bites. Also believe my doxy to be expired—how long is it good for in capsule form? Doesn't have expiry on my prescription. Symptoms showed up around day 7 in Mali: sore … [Read more...]
Malaria and Blood Cells
QUESTION What effect does malaria have on blood cells? ANSWER Malaria survives by invading red blood cells (erythrocytes), then replicating within them several times (the exact number and timing of replication depends on the species of malaria), then, once done with replication, bursts from inside the red blood cells, destroying it in the process. As such, malaria infection decreases the … [Read more...]