Contract sickle cell anaemia. Parasites can't develop in those who have the condition.

Menikos,
Unfortunately Plasmodium falciparum is constantly evolving and developing resistance to many of the older anti-malarial drugs, especially Chloroquine.
Most of Africa and certainly nearly all tropical countries in Africa, with the exception of Botwswana, Mauritania and Namibia have chloroquine (trade name Paludrine in UK) resistant malaria and taking Paludrine will give very little protection. Paludrine, anyway must always be taken with a weekly dose of Nivaquine. Side effects of these two drugs are stomach irritation, nausea and mouth ulcers. If you are going to an area where you can take Chloroqine (Nivaquine or Avloclor) and Proguanil (Paludrine), the recommended regime is to start taking one week before travelling and continue for 4 weeks after returning. If you are travelling to any of the tropical countries in Africa, the WHO and most tropical medical centres now recommend either one Malarone tablet daily (starting 2 days before you travel and continuing for one week after you return) or one 100mg capsule of Doxycycline daily ((starting 2 days before you travel and continuing for 4 weeks after you return).
Check up on a regular basis what the recommended regime is for the country you're visiting as new drugs are being developed all the time as resistance to old ones is built up. If you're a pilot definitely avoid Mefloquine (Larium) as it can cause depression, anxiety and paranoia in a some people. Definitely stay away from Halofantrine (Halofan) as it has been known to cause irregular heartbeats, even resulting in death.

Tokunbo,

your post and Mr. Twotter´s one about sickle cell aneamia are the only ones here that cover everything (almost) fine and in a correct way.

Obviously a typing error though:
You must have meant Proguanil there instead of chloroquine. Chloroquine is traded as Nivaquine, Resochin etc.

Quite correct: Paludrine alone does NOT help. You MUST combine Paludrine with chloroquine.

Just for the record, some people get bad skin reactions when exposed to sunshine, under Doxycycline medication. Not a good idea in the tropics...

And then, of course, there is always Gin adn Tonic. :E You only need about 50 to 80 G&Ts per day to get the appropriate dose of alcohol and quinine.;)

EDDN,
Sorry must have been having a bad day drinking enough Gin and Tonics to keep up my quinine levels :ok:
You're quite correct, Chloroquine is normally traded as Avloclor or Nivaquine, and Proguanil hydrochloride normally trades as Paludrine.
The point I was actually trying to make is that they are only effective together and normally only any use against Plasmodium vivax, ovale and malariae. It has little use in most African countries against P. falciparum. As soggyboxers said, currently the best chemoprophylactics are either Malarone or doxycycline, one causing gastro-intestinal irritation and the other photosensitivity. You take your choice

These days, (mainly travelling in and out of West and Central Africa) I tend to use Doxycycline. I was on paludrine/chorloquine for twelve years living in the bush in Ivory Coast: it didn't keep me completely free of malaria but living where we did and doing the job we did being free of malaria was always going to be difficult. My wife had a dreadful time for about eight years and its only when she switched to doxcycline that things really settled down for her. The chloroquine/paludrine thing never worked for her (and larium was worse).

It is well worth noting that if you are in a malaria area and you do get bitten, then malaria becomes a stress related disease. If you get really tired or stressed, then your prophylaxis will really struggle to deal with the parasites. If you are likely to be seriously exposed to palu, take a treatment with you everywhere you go (our family carry arsumax - even though we are mainly based in the UK now).

Blah Blah Fishpaste,
I had done the research...now back yourself up! Tell me that mossies zone in to the Carbon dioxide in your breath.... I need a chuckle :p

Mosquito & Malaria Control
 

Guys I need some info.

Do people spray Mosquito’s with Aircraft to prevent the spread of Malaria? It’s just a funny for me as it’s the largest single killer in Africa and spraying them from the air would seem an effective method

Any one knows any operators that do this / did this???

Let me know

Malaria does not get sprayed. They treat waterways and lakes, ponds with chemicals to kill of the mosquitos in lavae and pupae stadges - but even that is very controversial... so: I don't think so mate.

The treehuggers put up a major fuss way back when it was done by air!:eek: Claimed the DDT that was sprayed caused deformities in embryo's etc. Company that has done Tse Tse contracts recently and also had an effect on mozzies, is Orsmond Aerial Spray based in Bethlehem. Did the spraying at night at treetop level!!:D Large cojones!!!!

Busy with that right now in Namibia and Botswana.

Helicopter company using a Hughes 500 sprayed for mossie in west africa, will get you the contract name

Helijet
That used to be Evergreen. Had a friend put one of their 500s in the water there. They sprayed for Black Flys.

Past practices
 

Years ago in the Okavango, a well-known South African company
used AC500's to night-spray against Tsetse-flies.
Low-level with powerful lights.

Huge outcry from Greenies & Tree-huggers.

By reducing Tsetse, cattle farmers around the Okavango profited.

In the fifties, S-51 helicopters sprayed Northern KZN with DDT & reputedly stocks of that era still remain today. Certain people think it should be re-applied again.

There are soft options around now that can be applied without upsetting too many people.

" A - Bait" springs to mind.

It is applied to the water, not a target on the wing, therefore large, less drift prone droplets. In daylight.:ok:

It affects only mosquito larvae, preventing proper developement of their wings. Meaning they cannot leave the water.

So, the food chain is relatively unaffected, as fish are still able to feed on them.

Weapon of choice in Queensland, Australia. Not known for malaria but other remarkably similar diseases exist here.

I'll bet it's not free, and if it's not given, it aint gonna get used in Africa.

Here our government pollicy is that a good diet should keep most ills away.

I hear what you are saying.

Got tangled up in the tendering process for some of this work a couple of years back.

The local govt. official in charge of such things let slip that the vehicles "fogging" insecticide in the built up areas here were only sometimes actually loaded with insecticide.

All a matter of public perception, apparantly.

Medical
 

Hi
is any one able to give me infos about the medical aspect of working in countries like Burghina Faso, Mali or Ivory Coast...specifically about the malaria prophylaxis ?
Thanks...

Malaria...DANGEROUS! We all know that but as a Tropical Meds person said to me when I had it you have to know what it is before you treat it! Duh you say!
Fact was felt like flu on Sunday, not so bad Monday, stuffed Tuesday. Blood test negative, Wednesday blood test negative, Thursday blood test negative, Liver function test satisfactory. By the end of Thursday not feeling too good (lack of food etc) Friday Blood test Positive.
Thank god was all I could say, had my Halfan but took about 6 months before I would say all was normal. The moral of this is, the Doc would not give me ANYTHING until he was sure as there are different strains and you can mask one type inadvertantly and make things worse. Pilots by trade are all good self fixers but in this case would say as others did that prevention is by far the better cure!
Sorry if I have duplicated anyone else, 35 years here and only 1 go touch wood!
Fly safe all and sundown to sunrise IS the time for both types of night fighters:E :E :E

salvpir,

In all the countries you mention, falciparum malaria is the prevalent strain. It has little use in most African countries against P. falciparum. As previously mentioned on this thread, currently the best chemoprophylactics are either Malarone or doxycycline, one causing gastro-intestinal irritation and the other photosensitivity. Many companies here now issue their expatriate staff with Coartem tablets to take if they think they have malaria while they're out on leave, becasue many doctors in countries which don't have malaria fail to diagnose it, which has led to several people I know dying of it when at home. Definitely stay away from Halofantrine (Halofan) as it has been known to cause irregular heartbeats, even resulting in death. I guess Ratcatcher was lucky when he took his :}

Vibramycin and Orodar.
 

I recently returned to Kenya coast after many years away . I spent many years in both Kenya and Malawi as a boy pilot and had a few brushes with malaria along the way. Not had it for 20 years now , but understandably was more than a little anxious on my return.
The only anti -malaria dawa /muti / medicine I could get here in the Eastern Med was VIBRAMYCIN from Pfizer , another name for doxycycline . After I paid for it , instructions in GREEK ! , advised to stay out of the sun ! This rather negated the winter holiday / watersports regime planned .
On arrival , I decided to take the path recommended by the locals who live there , and keep the mozzies off . So , nets , spraying , etc etc , but still got nailed by one persistent little buzzer.
Visited the local chemist , same Asian geezer been there 32 years , gave me a course of Coartem in case of malarial attack as well as another little bomb called ORODAR to take concurrently. These are made in Nairobi by Elys Chemical Industries and consist of 500 mg SULFADOXINE and 25 mg PYRIMETHAMINE . I would appreciate anyones experience / opinions on these please. I may go back for longer periods and wouldlike a 'plan'.
I did not use them as I did not contract anything nasty.
By the way , go easy on the G&Ts , malaria loves to attack a weakened liver.

Fansidar
 

kotakota,

Sulfadoxine with pyrimethamine is also known by the brand name Fansidar and was a new antimalarial about 15 years ago. Why anyone would want to take these in conjunction with Coartem is beyond me, and would probably severely punish your liver. If you have Coartem as a malaria cure, you shouldn't need anything else. You could take malarone as an anti-malarial, but read my advice on them in previous posts. Doxycycline is quite an effective prophylaxis, but in some light-skinned individuals who burn easily it may make them more liable to sunburn. It probably has less side effects than any of the other anti-malarial prohylaxis available at present. If you're not an aviator and only coming for a few weeks, you could consider Mefloquine (Larium). However, be aware that it can cause depression, anxiety and paranoia in a some people and is not recommended for aircrew. It is a fairly effective anti-malarial. As long as you use a good sunscreen and don't have very sensitive skin, doxycycline is probably not too bad, with Coartem as your treatment if you still contract malaria.

Fansidar
 

Takunbo

Thanks for all that . I do remember the name Fansidar , but did not read labels too carefully in those days !
It appears that in Doxycycline and Coartem I have the goods already.
Yes , I am an aviator , so Lariam is definitely out .

Take care up there
KK

Talking to one of the guys at the Orval, the scenario went something like this:
Spent 10 years in Africa: all over the continent. (S.A., Rhodesia [it was then!], Kenya, Uganda, Gabon, Central African Empire, Gambia, Sudan, Egypt etc.)
Later spent considerable time in the Caribbean.
Never took any pills, always wore long sleeves and long trousers, never caught Malaria, drank loads of Gin and Tonic! (No ice thank you! Catch nasty things from ice!)
As for Marmite? Much better on toast, with marmalade! :)

‘Specially for CD… The real ‘quote’ is:

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

Pilots and malaria
 

I wanted to tanks all the friends for the usefull infos.

Salvpir

Malaria medicin
 

Hi,
I'm going to Africa soon. So I just wanted to hear if anybody knew what kind of malaria-medicin is legal to take when flying? I heard that Lariam is not legal if you are a pilot!
Any advice or suggestions...

Cheers

I don't take any at all.........the big shots says, by taking you might mask the effect, once you actually get malaria!! Up to you...

I would not take any anti-maleria drugs if you intend to stay for a period of time, I would not take any if I was only there for a short period either.

Just take care, the main thing you need is a good quality net to sleep under, a fan in your room to keep the air moving and perhaps cream.

i have been flying around africa for the last 2 years and have never taken any precaution medicine wise. would have to be on it forever! and the story of g&t is nonsense.... would have to consume serious amounts of tonic water to get remotely close to what is needed!

tabart spray/ stick/ cream, long clothes, collar shirt, tucked in shirt, socks, shoes and closed windows and some aircon or a fan! those treated mozzi nets also great! and coartem on standby and a local doctor with knowledge of the local malaria!

:ok:

I never take any, but the most widely recommended effective ant--malarial prophylaxis in West Africa is either Malarone or Doxycycline.

Just had malaria in Nigeria, took Artesunate for 3 days and Fansidar as a booster on the second day. Felt great the 3rd day. Friends from Malabo sent me the tabs in a yellow box .... great stuff, better than Malarone.

What about staying in an infected region like West Africa for 15 or 28 day deployment at a time?

Is there effective medication to cover you while flying for this period of time?

Is a brand of medication effective in certain areas, and not in others?

From personal experience I can honestly say that it is better to get malaria rather than risking the possibility of the malaria not being identified. I ended up with cerebral malaria........ it was close, too close!!

I was treated with anti- biotics for a bad flue and the pills masked the virus in the blood or whatever. By the time I ended up in hospital the specialist took a gamble and gave me quinine directly through a drip into the blood. Saved my life.
Just take care and if you do get sick tell the doctor where you have been.