malaria

[ethandron]

does anyone out there know, once you've had malaria are you prone to getting further attacks? i don't know if i've dreamt it, or it's an old wives tale, or true, but i seem to think once you've had it it can recur again without warning and is something you have to learn to control/live with/expect. google doesn't shed any light.

[ilsonchick]

People can have further attacks of it in the future yes.

[micmak]

My father got malaria during the war when he was serving in Egypt. He died in 1986 and was still having 'attacks' right up until he died.

[LazyGun]

Some useful information here, Ethandron

http://www.malariasit.../RecurrentMalaria.htm

Basically the reasons why malaria may recur are ; Incomplete course of antimalarial drugs ; Reinfection via fresh mosquito bites, poor or absent immune response, latent sporozites residing in the liver, and in the case of falciparum or malariae, parasites themselves hanging around in the blood through resistance to chloroquine, etc.

[LazyGun]

Incidentally, for those who didn't know, Malaria is not a trivial disease. Its estimated that there are ,annually, anywhere between 350-500 MILLION cases per year, and an estimated 1-3 MILLION deaths per year, directly attributable to Malaria.

If you are travelling, check whether it is a malaria risk area.If it is, don't Fosters about -get yourself prescribed a course of anti-malarial drugs - and not some crappy homeopathic or naturopathic useless remedies - then take them, the full course, even if you get back home and you don't think you have it, or don't have any symptoms.

[ethandron]

thanks everyone for your answers, and thanks for that link lazygun, very interesting. seems i didn't dream it up after all :)
i did wonder that in these days of modern medicine it could be got rid of once and for all once a person contracted it, seems not.