hullo !!!!

everytime I speak about this issue with local people (talking about wesk / central africa ) ..they dont seem as concerned as us about getting malaria .

why ?

apparently there is a malara treatment , cheap , effective , and fast. Its something called "artesunate hydrocloride" or something like this. People swear that It works , and no side effects (well , definitely much less side effects than lariam)


I though It was another homeopat-herbal-magnetic-cristal quackery ..but surpringly , in EU , I talked to a specialist in tropical medicine and He said that It works. Not only that , but that ITs on the way to be distributed in the west really soon. As a new drug , ITs undergoing all these red-tape double blind safety trials , etc.. etc.. but in Africa is readily available now .

Its manufactured by Bayer , and ITs avaliable everywhere in West Africa for a few euros .Its 6 pills , you take 2, next day 1 , etc,, and so on.and all the times will cure or make your symthoms much better (enabling you to keep on driving ) .

I stocked up quite a few boxes of that for future trips.

UK/Spanish expats in Gambia , dont take any malaria protection at all , and rely simply on using this cure when the first simpthoms arrive. They say Its 100% effective ,etc..


anyone´got experiences with this ?

http://www.malaria-ipca.com/artesunate_amodiaquine.html

have a nice day

Hi Javier,
No experience of this particular variant but most of the "cure" drugs available in Africa are Artemisin based. They are all very effective in their local areas if taken early enough into a bout. Very rarely do you need hospital treatment - although it is still possible.
My personal favourite is Artenam. Others favour Coartem but they all work the same way with a loading dose and then 4-5 days after.
I am usually up and around , though weak, after a day.

Hope this helps

George

Javier,

'Local' as in indegenous people will have a ceretain amount of natural immunity against malaria. However, even that does not protect them.

The Artenam cure worked extremely well for me after early diagnosis (everbody said I had Malaria, couldn't get a test done on the sunday, so self medicated) and I was back in the office after a couple of days...

Friend of mine felt first symptoms on a Friday night and waited 'till almost unconcious on Monday morning before being forcefully taken to hospital. She thought it was a return bout of Typhoid rather than Malaria. The cure was two Artenam injections and had her from delirious in bed back to her feet in three days! Mind you, another 12 hours untreated and she would probably have died!

So the key to using a cure rather than prophylaxis is to be confident that you can spot the early signs and have a reliable test kit (you can get false-negative results with quiet a few kits, but false-positive is more common). If in any doubt about your status, I advice would be to pop the pills and see what happens.

Remember Malaria kills very quickly and can be misdiagnosed as something else.

Saludos

Jens

__________________
You can never have too many bikes......

BMW R100GS
Triumph Tiger 885
Yamaha XT600e

Jens is gone, but not forgotten.

Jens, never heard of Artenam before but sounds interesting. I'm going to SA in 6 months time and worrying about malaria. Can you buy Artenam in the UK?
And does it work for South American "choroquine resistant" strains?
Cheers,

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

hi Maria.

dont worry about where to get those Artinam/Artesunate . Once in Africa, virtually every chemists' sell those -or similar ones- . I guess they sell more Artinam than aspirins.

also the same about the malaria profilaxis. I used to pay 30-50 EUR for Lariam/Malarone/ etc... and then I discovered that in Africa , they sell generics (exactly the same) at a ridiculus low price (Generic Lariam goes for around 1 Euro the whole blister of 4 )

Have a nice day

I'm planning to spend a year riding round South America.

Does anyone know how easy it is to buy profilaxis and malaria treatment like Artinam/Artesunate over there ? Should I bulk up here in the UK or better to buy over there? (Ecuador/Peru/Colombia/Brazil?)

Thanks!

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

Hi Bert!

un pot serait sympa! J'ai la meme becane du coup je serais interesse de voir les modif que tu as fait sur la tienne!

I will try to organise a London drinks for later this month! The last one I organised in August was successful!
I will start a new thread for this! Look out for it!
Cheers!

__________________
Maria

www.franglais-riders.com

My husband and I have both experienced malaria....whilst taking anit-malaria meds..........
remember - no medication guarantees 100% effectiveness!
Malaria is a serous and is sometimes a fatal disease....and there is no vaccination against malaria.
it is true that sometimes the locals of a country may have some in-built protection but there are more indigenous deaths due to malaria in Africa then of AIDS.

When travelling through Africa my husband and I took doxycycline as we required a medication for prolonged use. It was effective as we did not suffer from malaria whilst in Africa....but we were always using other precautions as well...ie spray, covering up etc.

However, whilst in South America we suffered two very bad attacks of malaria.(Strain- plasmodium vivax..the most common) I was unable to reach other meds or a hospital for almost 2 weeks....during this time the situation just worsens. Once admitted I suffered temps of 42 degs....and things excreting from every orifice for 6 days...there is always a risk of coma in this scenario.

Self medication may work in very mild cases but this is a killer and correct treatment should be sought. The parasites can remain in your liver for many months or even years before once again becoming active.....so you think your self-medication has worked.....it has usually just succeded in laying the parisites dormant for a while.

One option is to carry with you the tablets Cloroquine and Primaquine...both available abroad easily....but only via prescription in the UK. But you should always discuss proper usage of these meds with a doctor before-hand so you know how to adminster them correctly.

for more information on MALARIA PRECAUTIONS visite the site
http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/
and for information on medications try the link for the same site.....
http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/Gener...prophylax.html

I hope this helps.....

__________________
Lisa
www.2ridetheworld.com

Wow, good info/advice from Lisa! I'm in Uganda now and just read in the local news that one person in Africa dies from malaria every 30 seconds. There is no cure for malaria, but there are meds to help ease its effects. It is important to avoid being bitten in the first place. I am taking Malinal now; it is not cheap- and requires daily dosage- but covers the 4 main strains of malaria where I'm travelling. As Lisa mentioned, taking the meds doesn't make you invulnerable- avoid the bites and remember, there is no cure- yet.

__________________
"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..." L.B. Armstrong. www.davesgreatescape.net
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readme...e&id=661274218

From Larium or its generics unless u dont mind having the craziest dreams ever. It also makes u sweat like hell in hotter temps too.

IMHO i would go for prevention next time rather than take those tabs again. Cloroquine and Primaquine also will work wonders should you get infected.

In 6 months in africa i found tabard to be the best bet. The spray type. or if you really dont mind smelling try this ....proven..... Tabbard cream mixed with Dettol....

Hi!

If you are on a bike just passing by, it would be HIGHLY irresponsible to not use some form of prophylaxis! That is unless you are familiar with the area, ie doctors, hospitals, clinics, medicne and malaria!

I live in Madagascar and stayed in a Malaria area for 3 three years, Had malaria twice. The first year I used something.. cant remember the name. One tablet daily and the other once a week. Had malaria in spite of this.

The next two years I didnot use meds and had malaria once.

It is true that malaria can usually be cured very easily BUT you can die within 24 hours from malaria as well!

Remember that the locals are "used to " malaria, ie partially resistant. also for them it is a common thing and they will not share your concern. Why is he worried? Everybody gets malaria every now and again. Just deal with it you funny foreigner!

Be safe!