BANGKOK — The World Health Organization is warning that about $450 million is needed over the next three years to stop a strain of drug-resistant malaria from spreading beyond Southeast Asia to the rest of the world. Researchers say the artemisinin-resistant strain has spread to Burma and Vietnam since it was first detected along the Cambodian-Thai border in 2008. In addition to sounding the … [Read more...]
Malaria Pills Vietnam
QUESTION I am travelling from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city via Haalong Bay, Hue and Hoi An, all are Costal areas. Should I take Malarone? I would prefer not to as I am trying to get pregnant. ANSWER In Vietnam, costal areas north of Nha Trang are considered malaria-free, as are the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. As such, it is only rural and costal areas closer to Ho Chi Minh city … [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...]
Malaria from Vietnam War
QUESTION: If my husband contracted malaria from serving in the Vietnam War but has never been treated for it, what are the symptoms that he might have experienced in the past that could have been caused by malaria but not diagnosed correctly? Also is it possible that malaria infection could cause any type of birth defects to his children? ANSWER: Most people with primary … [Read more...]
Use of Fish for Malaria Eradication
QUESTION Why is very little research being done on the possibility of mosquito fish being used as a means of controlling the hatching of new eggs? ANSWER Actually there is a lot of scientific literature on the use of fish as a biological control of mosquitoes, usually through consumption of the mosquito larvae or pupae while they are in freshwater. The most common species used for this … [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...]