Malaria Santa Marta

babygirl says on Jan 27, 2005, 17:45:

there's a new malaria drug out i believe, contact your public health centre, i'm not sure what it's called but it's supposed to be more effective that the "crazy malaria drug" used in the past. actually your public health centre should be able to tell you about high risk areas etc for diseases and such too, they should have the most current information

cheers - babygirl

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jaramillo says on Jan 27, 2005, 18:29:

Malaria The Health institute bulletin for 2002 lists 157 cases in Santa Marta special district (4.4 per 1,000 inhabitants). That’s not too bad, about one tenth what you would see in Choco, or in certain low-lying towns in Antioquia, Amazonas, etc.

See: http://www.col.ops-oms.org/sivigila/2003/BOLE43_03.htm

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Gator says on Jan 27, 2005, 19:39:

Any time... you get below about a 1000 mtrs there is a chance of a mosquito type disease-but it's not that much of a problem right now. However if I was going to wander about the Department de Choco or Amazons and a couple of others I would get the proper innoculation/prophylactic. Some of these have a "lead"time so allow for that.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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umm says on Jan 27, 2005, 20:46:

What Santa Marta and Malaria??? Are you kidding?
Some say when you go over to Choco than it might be possible to contract malaria, but not in Santa Marta.
If someone in SM has got malaria then he or she probably contracted it somewhere else.

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Lomax says on Jan 28, 2005, 03:12:

No Malaria As far as I know, Santa Marta itself is not affected by Malaria musquito's (please be aware of Dengue instead, no medicine available). Should you consider doing ciudad perdida, I would recommend to do a check with your travel clinic (at a regular basis, they are being provided with maps showing the areas in which Malaria exists).

The new malaria drug babygirl is refering to, is called Malerone. In order to be protected, this drug should be taken at diner the night before you expect to arrive in Malaria area. While being in the area, you should take one tablet a day (during diner) and continue the cure 7 days after departure from such area. Please note that this is not a medical advice, you should consult your doctor in anyway in order to get those tablets.

Furthermore, please note that there was a huge yellow fever outbreak in Parque Tayrona (1.5 year ago). Should you consider visiting this area (and Santa Marta) it is advisable to be protected.

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umm says on Jan 28, 2005, 04:08:

Dont forget: there was a cholera outbreak 23 years ago in Honduras, so better dont go there.
Dont write so much rubbish lomax.
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Hunter says on Jan 28, 2005, 04:49:

Lomax Thanks for the information on the malaria tablets.

There was a yellow fever outbreak about a year ago near Santa Marta, a few people were infected, but not a HUGE amount.

Hunter

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kernow62 says on Jan 28, 2005, 05:12:

http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/ho

http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/homelessness/malariafactsheet.shtml

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/08/24/mosquito.illness/

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umm says on Jan 28, 2005, 06:30:

Malaria is temperature dependant.
If the temperature is too low you wont find malaria.
Maybe in especially warm areas of the USA you can find malaria but Florida might be too cool for it.
You also dont find it in elevated areas, well there is a version of highland malaria you can find in Kenya, but I doubt you will find it in South America.

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kerry says on Jan 28, 2005, 09:03:

THANKS I would like to thank everyone for their advice.

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kernow62 says on Jan 28, 2005, 12:30:

Umm, Florida isn't one of the cooler parts of the US, it is one of the hotter, wet and humid areas. The climate is much like that of the coastal region of Colombia. Normally it is 95 to 100 degrees in the summer with 90% to 100% humidity. We do however get cooler in the Winter, perhaps this cooling off period is the reason.

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kernow62 says on Jan 28, 2005, 12:32:

Umm, Florida is alos mostly a Umm, Florida is also mostly at sea level, so I doubt elevation is the reason.

We do have mosquito spraying trucks that suddenly appear and spray anything and anyone in their path, children and pets too.

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Lionheart says on Jan 28, 2005, 13:04:

the Florida comment makes no sense Rather, it has ideal conditions. When I read the history of building the first railroads in Florida it reported serious problems with Malaria.

As far as I remember they applied the same biological warfare against the malaria mosquito as they did in South Italy, where this method was tried first. Somehow they made the male mosquitos infertile, so over a few generations the mosquitos eventually died out.

mosquitos

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 28, 2005, 13:14:

lionheart just an idea, but d'you think this same method could be applied to trolls?
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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Lionheart says on Jan 28, 2005, 13:26:

Desi I recommend a machete instead of biological warfare ... there is nothing like the gleam of bright metal in the moonlight ... with all the talk going on I doubt there is much to kill there anyway.

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umm says on Jan 28, 2005, 16:58:

kernow,
I know that florida is still considered warm and that there are not so many elevations.
Stll, Miami is in winter too cool for malaria, even in Miami its only 18 - 22 degrees now but it can still be much cooler there.
How about the north of Florida??

In Summer it is well thinkable you get malaria, especially if you have (slave) labour camps to build railroads. You got one with malaria there and the mosquitos infect the rest.


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jaramillo says on Jan 28, 2005, 18:10:

malaria on the rebound Two things determine whether you can get Malaria somewhere: the presence of a vector (the anopheles mosquito), and the presence of the plasmodium (present in infected people). Santa Marta fits both bills. In fact, and especially with reduced spraying and global warming, the ecological range of the anopheles mosquito has increased. It is in fact quite possible to get Malaria in Florida. Recently there’s even been a couple of cases in Virginia (not exactly the deep south). The infected people had not traveled outside the U.S. Malaria is on the rebound.

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umm says on Jan 28, 2005, 21:40:

Meaning: when you travel to florida, better take some anti Malaria drugs.
At the end, taking the anti malaria pills is also not healthy and if the danger of contracting Malaria is minimal when going to StaMta I would not take those pills. I know a lot of places in Colombia, but I have never have taken any pills against Malaria.
My sister became sick from taking the pills but not from malaria.
And if you are worried about Dengue, be worried when you go to places like Brazil.

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jaramillo says on Jan 29, 2005, 06:26:

Malaria pills I think people should have the facts. What they do with it is up to them. I travelled to many light Malaria areas and never thought of taking those pills. It depends on the site. As I said, the risk in Santa Marta is minimal. But if you go to Taraza, or Monte Libano, or Mutatá (Antioquia), and you do not take the pills, you are asking for it.

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kerry says on Jan 29, 2005, 06:46:

medical drugs can damage the body When i was in Africa I took anti malarial tablets and still got malaria. All medical drugs are dangerous as they are powerful things which create imbalance in the body. Every year over a hundred people die from paracetomol in Britain. These are not overdose cases but people that just take a single tablet or two. No one knows how much damage in the long term medical drugs can do to the body

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jaramillo says on Jan 29, 2005, 07:29:

Drugs Antimalarial pills are not 100% efficient (no drug is), partly because the plasmodium mutates often, and becomes resistant. So, someone can contract the disease (like kerry) despite having taken them. However, statistically (and that is how one has to look at it), if you send two groups to an infested region in Africa, one with a placebo, and the other with an antimalarial drug, the one with the drug will do much, much better. This is a risk/benefit issue. In Santa Marta, it is not worth the risk (let everyone decide for themselves)

Disease is what causes an imbalance, and many drugs restore balance, or alleviate the imbalance. Of course, all drugs are poison (heck, must foods are poison, it is a mater of dosage. Our chemistry is carefully regulated. Not enough potassium, you die. Too much potassium, you die). And we DO know, for many drugs, what their long term effects are. Drugs are to be used carefully, but to say that we are better off not using them is just not supported by facts.

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kerry says on Jan 29, 2005, 07:34:

You have no facts jaramillo I do have facts form a book called what doctors dont tell you. Your idea of sending 2 groups one with a placebo and one with a drug is an asumption you ahve made and not a fact. It is fact that areas that have not been vaccinated have seen a massive decrease in a disease. It is also fact that an area where everyone has been vaccinated there has been an out break of that disease and many people have been infected that have had the vaccination. Lets get facts and speak about them

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jaramillo says on Jan 29, 2005, 07:50:

facts That's OK kerry. If you believe modern medicine is bad for you, and you think the facts are on your side, more power to you.

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Gator says on Jan 29, 2005, 13:05:

kerry you impress me as the type who would have violent arguments with the voices in your head or having an argument with yourself that comes to blows.

Board members can you spell trollllllllllll?

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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ARMacleod says on Jan 29, 2005, 13:28:

Be cool. Literally. Overheating is a problem when it comes to the bodies reaction to invasive substances.

The human body is a chemical factory. Everyones body chemistry is different and every chemical reacts differently from every other chemical. The old saying " what's good for the goose is good for the gander" does not work in this situation.

Example: in countries where hay fever is common, some people develop sensitisation at a very young age and then others after four score and ten. Some people have anaphylactic shock with peanuts and others to bee stings.

The way that a vaccination affects you will again depend on your individual chemistry. In some cases the vaccination will kill you and in others it will protect you.

If you have any doubt as to your particular sensitisation to a particular product, have a test at the local hospital.

It is a vast subject, and the best advice that I can give you is, don't worry over much, worry in itself produces chemical change in the body and can be lethal.

Talk to your own Doctor, he will advise you best.

On the other hand have your headstone etched with the words

"See I told you I had reservations about this trip"

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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umm says on Jan 29, 2005, 15:48:

So,
if you take the pills you can get sick and can still get Malaria.
If you dont take the pills you can still get Malaria.

Best prevention:
Dont take Malaria pills and avoid getting bitten by the mosquitos.
Use Mosquito repellant and also protect yourself otherwise from getting stung.

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