Ok, here's a very interesting update. It may prove useful to those of you who ever find yourself out this way!
I came out here about 10 or so days ago, totally prepared to take on the might of the mozzie. I thought I had far superior thinking processes. I believed I could outwit the little monsters. I brought a mosquito net. I brought the plug in room vaporiser. I brought 50% deet skin spray and some 100% deet skin spray, just for good measure. I never went out without long sleeves or long trousers, and plenty of spray on exposed areas.
Oh, and just to make sure, I decided I was going to take Malarone until I got here and see how it all worked out. Better to be safe than sorry eh?
How many bites have I had in 10 days? Well I thought it was only one, on my stomach where one had managed to get through the gap in my shirt when i'd been out at night for a meal.
Now, 2 days ago I felt as if i'd strained my neck (fat chance) and then I had stomach upsets, loose bowels etc, (I know, I know, too much info) but it's relevant, and yesterday got up feeling dreadful. Off to the local clinic said my base manager. So I dutifully went, and with a stomach so painful I thought I was going to pass out, I had a full blood test.
(NB Here in this country it's possible to walk into the clinic, without an appointment, and have a blood test with instant results. Try that in good old Blighty eh? Just shows how backward the UK is as I had to wait a week for blood test results back there recently)
Anyway, turns out I have Malaria! Already! Doctor said I had to have been bitten about 5-7 days earlier. Parasites present. Started on a 3 day course of Duo-Cotecxin, and some Dividol, and some Perinorm, and just for good measure, some Panadol. Today, was started on some Zinnat (cefuroxime axetil) and apart from a low white blood cell count and borderline kidney function, I feel much better, if not a little tired still, but the doctor says if I hadn't have taken the Malarone I could have been a lot worse. Also, they did another test to check exactly which type of parasite I had, in case it had been from previous travels, but no, it was a local type, falciparum, which hadn't been living in my liver for a couple of years. The doctor recommends not going out at night! Everyone to use mosquito nets, always use skin protection deet 50% stuff, and to cover up as much as possible if going out. Also, if you do go out, make sure you try to go somewhere there is a breeze blowing.
So, the moral of the story is I guess that no matter what you do, the mosquito will find a way, even if they are just a carrier for the parasite.
At the first sign of any illness, go have a malaria test. They tell you there and then and can start treating you. Taking Malarone didnt make any difference to the test result. It won't stop you getting malaria.