I am referring to Gahunters thread: Back from Zim.
I am also back from Zim a few weeks ago and might have suffered from a malaria attack. Light fever and bad feeling during about one or two days. Definitely no tick fever.
That was the second time I had this appearance which may be the fighting of Lariam against malaria. I consumed about 24 boxes of Lariam during my 24 safaris in africa with absolutely no side effects and I am lucky to have no malaria follow ups.

Norbert,

You have had this bad feeling or attack twice (second time) since you have returned this year?

Or you had an attack this year and some previous year?

Hope you are feeling better now. Mosquitoes seem to be bad this year. I hope a new Larium resistant strain of malaria has not surfaced.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

Or you had an attack this year and some previous year?

Bill

Bill,

this year was the second attack, the previous about ten years ago.

Despite taking Malarone, I got malaria last February while hunting PAC elephant in Zim. My case wasn't as severe as that contracted by the PH and his crew, but it was still not a lot of fun. The scrip for Malarone advises starting the drug two days before entering a malarial area, which I did. The doc here guessed that I was bitten on the first or second day and the initial load was insufficient to fight the bug.

As with DavidW I also came down with Malaria after a PAC hunt in Zim. I took Deltaprim (the local malaria muti). My PH also came down with a more severe case but he has had malaria several times before and I understand that attacks tend to get worse the more you have. Several of our safari crew this year had malaria. So far I am alright and I took doxycycline this year.

465H&H

Malaria kills 329 people in Zimbabwe
HARARE, May 16, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Malaria has killed 329 people in
Zimbabwe since the beginning of this year, according to the malaria
statistics issued by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare on Monday.

The statistics showed that a total of 267,396 reported malaria cases, 329
deaths were recorded from January to April of this year.

This figure is a massive reduction from the 567 deaths and 300, 021 cases
reported during the same period last year.

Minister of Health and Child Welfare David Parirenyatwa said, for a long
time people were saying they want him to show them some proof of how
effective the government's malaria control program is, especially since the
use of the so-called controversial DDT.

"While I am still not happy at the fact that malaria is still killing our
people, the reduction in the number of deaths this year makes me very
optimistic. If we scale up our control programs, we might actually win this
war," he said.

The ministry said it would intensify interventions to maintain the current
trend of declining deaths.

300,000 last year? I find that somewhat hard to believe, or thsat they would know the actual number anyway.

The high cost of cheap early PAC hunts, eh?

I thought about blowing off my malaria prophylaxis this trip...have only seen a few mosquitos on all my trips to southern and east Africa but you guys are spooking me! First GAhunter and now Norbert? Malarone here I come!

Russell,

I would advise starting a couple of days earlier than prescribed, to be sure you're protected when you arrive in camp. (Note the lack of "MD" behind my name, so FWIW. ) I believe where you hunt has a lot to do with risk. If you're in communal areas, with a lot of carriers around, the risk goes up. Probably less risk during the cooler months, also.

I've also been several times without taking anything and have had no problems.

Bill, the "cost" was still worth every minute!

David. I do have M.D. behind my name and I couldn't agree with you more. Malaria kills more people world wide than any other infectious disease. It is no joke. If you get it, and it is of the P. falciparum strain(very common in east Africa), you have about a one in twenty chance of dying from it. I start taking my meds a full week before departure.

Geronimo

Geronomo,

I'll definitely start the course sooner next trip!

David,

You have to admit the potential for contracting malaria is much greater during the mosquito season (wet season)!!

In my experience most MD's only know what I have told them and what they find in the drug book, after I tell them to look it up! Of course, many never see malaria in their career, so it is not too surprising.

During winter, in Zim anyway, there are few mosquitoes, but you never know.

Bill,

You're right. I've never had any trouble during the winter months. Rainy season is a different story.

When I went to the lab to have my blood drawn, all of the techs came to watch. They had never seen anyone suspected of having malaria! Surprised they didn't try to paint a big red "M" on my forehead when I left.

DavidW, I had the same experience last year when I came down with Malaria. The local communical disease expert had me moved to his hospital so he could treat his first malaria case. There was a constant parade of doctors and nurses into my room to see a case of malaria. Whem my wife took me to the hospital at 2 am in a delirious state and told the emergency room doc to look for malaria, one of the few things I can remember is him chuckling when she asked. I found out that on average there are only 120 cases in the US each year. Most cases are in people that have been over seas. BUT, 4 or 5 cases are seen in Florida every year from those that haven't traveled over seas. Rare but possible to get malaria in Florida.

465H&H

Has anyone hunted Zambia? Or heard of any high concentrations of malaria in Busongo or Miombo?

I would be interested to hear such info.
Regards.

Norbert,

Can I ask why you're so certain it's definitely not tick bite fever?

Is Zim during August a high risk time, or low?

Depends where you are in zim. Assuming you are going to be hunting in the lowveld or the zambezi valley then all year round is quite high risk and you should take precautions.

Two things about most current treatment for malaria possibly relevant to older cases:

Came down with malaria in July 2003 after visiting the south of Sudan (Rumbek) where it was still wet. (No prophylaxis then, as am allergic to chloroquine and then unsure of tolerance for malarone. As this was a photoshoot, did not take doxycycline which increases skin sun-sensitivity.)

Got it early on return to US; lab said might have been both falciparium and vivax. Symptoms solely fever and sweat. Into hospital where treatment was four tablets of malarone at one go repeated every 24 hours for three days. Left for a hunt in Namibia seven days after checking into the hospital. Had checked myself out of the hospital after two nights: too many malaria-curious medical tourists, and was quickly responding to the malarone which, I can tell you, I take now in malarial areas such as the Caprivi strip in Namibia (too much water there even in the winter dry season).

Key second element was prescription for 14 days of primaquine, said to flush any plasmodium out of the liver (presumably vivax) and prevent recurrence of disease. Meant a week without South African wine during Namibia hunt until dosage completed!!
Regards, Tim

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
Norbert,

Can I ask why you're so certain it's definitely not tick bite fever?

Steve,

I checked my body every night for tick bites.
Prior to tick bite fever there is always a red, circled inflammation around a possible bite. Not so with me.

quote:

Originally posted by DavidAk:
Is Zim during August a high risk time, or low?

David,

Little risk in the winter (Aug) but still need to take prophylactics.**

** To those in Rio Linda, prophylatics are preventative medicines, in this case, and not condoms.

quote:

Originally posted by Norbert:

I checked my body every night for tick bites.

In case any babes want to check my body every night this July in Zim, let me know.

I think every one knows that Malaria is a serious problem in Africa.

Many times we relay stories and opinions on how dangerous buffalo or lions can be.

We now have added a topic on the real killer (not that buffalo and lions are not dangerous), the mosquito.

I have had it a few times and it is no fun.

I guess I am thinking about things like this, as I updated my shots today.

For anyone interested, I have a link to the CDC on my web page, at 'Helpful Resources"

Best,
Phil
www.go-on-safari.com

Norbert,

Just because you didn't find a tick bite doesn't mean it's not there.......it could be at the back of the head, inside the hairline, inside the ear and in places a lot more personal.... If you were taking anti-malarials I would think there's a much greater chance of it being tick bit fever than malaria......to say nothing of the fact that malaria is usually a LOT worse than TBF.

Zambia aims to slash number of malaria deaths

May 19 2005 at 05:18PM

Geneva - Health workers in Zambia aim to cut malaria deaths by 75 percent in three years by better co-ordinating existing efforts under a programme they hope will be a model worldwide, the programme's director said on Thursday.

Malaria Control and Evaluation Partnership in Africa (MACEPA) programme director Carlos Campbell said global malaria-fighting efforts have suffered largely so far from a lack of co-ordination and effective management, not for lack of effective tools.

"The key issue right now is the co-ordination of the effort and the intensification of the effort and creating a country profile," Campbell, a former head of the United States anti-malaria programme for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said by telephone.


"This is largely about putting the pieces together."

Each year 350-million to 500-million people in more than 100 countries catch the disease, which mainly targets children and can kill in hours.

Of those countries, Africa accounts for 80 percent of the deaths, the majority south of the Sahara where the most deadly species of the malaria parasite thrives, a United Nations report found. In Zambia alone, an estimated 50 000 people are killed each year out of a population of 10 million.

Earlier this month, the UN blamed a shortage of drugs and funds, and delays in distributing mosquito nets in Africa for hampering the malaria battle.

MACEPA's programme also follows a scathing editorial in The Lancet medical journal last month accusing an international partnership of more than 90 organisations and countries of not only failing to control malaria, but possibly doing more harm that good.

"Zambia was selected because it has had success in reaching communities with immunisations and antenatal care, has strong national commitment and leadership within the health sector and has adequate financial resources," a statement announcing the plan said.

The plan, funded through a nine-year $35-million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes to serve as a model for other nations combating the deadly disease.

"The immediate goals of the partnership are to support coordination of rapid scale-up using proven malaria control strategies - including insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor mosquito control, and effective medication - to reach 80 percent of Zambia's population and to cut deaths due to malaria by 75 percent within three years," the Gates Foundation said in a statement.

It was announced in Geneva by telephone conference during the World Health Organisation's annual World Health Assembly.

Campbell said he planned to use a business-style approach to steer ongoing efforts in co-operation with Zambia's Health Ministry, the United Nations, the World Bank and others.

MACEPA would act as a surveillance mechanism to keep track of the various malaria fighting efforts, helping to co-ordinate, identify bottlenecks and purchase supplies if needed.

The Roll Back Malaria partnership (RBM), which includes the World Health Organisation and World Bank, was set up in 1998 to co-ordinate the fight against the mosquito-borne disease. Its goal is to halve malaria mortality by 2010 and again by 2015.

The Gates Foundation, endowed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is the world's richest philanthropic organisation with assets of $28-billion.