BCN,
Forget the Malarone! If you want to take anything take Doxycycline (much cheaper and fewer side-effects) and get a pack of Coartem to take if you suspect you have malaria and can't get to a hospital for confirmation that you actually have malaria. Malarone gives many people stomach upsets and mouth ulcers and is best kept as an alternative to Coartem as a treatment if you think you've caught malaria and can't get to a hospital. Doxycline can give a touch of diarrhoea and does increase skin sensitivity to the sun, but overall has fewer unpleasant side effects than most other forms of anti-malaria prophylaxis. Anyway, if you're taking Malarone as a prophylaxis you'll have to take it every day, so don't worry about not flying for a month!! depending on the area you're going to work and the type of work you're going to do, you'll also need to consider vaccinations or tablets for typhoid, hepatitis (A and B), rabies, polio, meningitis. If you've never had a TB vaccination remember that TB is also making a big comeback in Africa (we've had at least 3 pilots who have caught it in my company).
The best protection against malaria is prevention against bites. Measures such as insecticide sprays, insect repellent sprays (those containing DEET are most effective), wearing long sleeved shirts and socks if outside at dusk, all help to prevent getting bitten. It's always worth having a sealed sterile needle (in case you have to go to a bush hospital), a surgical needle and thread (ditto, or for self treatment), wound-closure strips, Eurax cream (wonderful for stopping insect bites from itching!), Adcortyl in orabase cream (the best treatment for mouth ulcers brought on by Malarone), antiseptic cream, multi-vitamins with iron, snake anti-venin. You'll soon discover all the other useful items to keep in a bag in your house and then just make sure that you replace them when they reach their sell-by date. Coming to work in most parts of Africa mmeans that you'll be a walking mini-pharmacy and first-aid station - but it's worth it
