"ash" wrote in message news:...
> AAARRGGHHHHH! Not this again.
> You only need malaria prophylaxis if you are going to a few very remote
> places on the Burmese border. Anywhere where tourists in any sort of numbers
> might get to won't need it.
> And, most important of all, DON'T TAKE LARIAM(mefloquine)! There is a huge
> chance of bad, permanent side effects. If going somewhere means taking it,
> don't go. Doxycycline is OK, but again, you shouldn't need it.
I agree with ash on most of this, esp'ly the bit about touristy areas
- don't worry there. When I first went to BKK, I even used to worry
about the water - now not a worry, never had a problem. Chiang Mai no
problem with malaria either. There's a malaria clinic close to CMU as
I recall where I went to get info on a planned visit to Mae Hong Son.
I could barely understand the doctor over the phone hookup and got the
message I needn;t worry about a thing in MHS. When I got home (US),
the doc said I should have taken doxy. And you really only need this
in certain outlying regions; as someone else said check the CDC.
Here is what the CDC says re Thailand:
"Most travelers to Thailand are not at risk for malaria and do not
need to take an antimalarial drug. Travelers to the border areas of
Cambodia, Laos, and Burma should take an antimalarial drug.
If travel is to the Thailand/Burma border or the Thailand/Cambodia
border, then either atovaquone/proguanil or doxycycline should be
used. Mefloquine would not be recommended in these border areas."
There are also prophylactics other than doxy or Lariam, like malarone
which I've not used and may do as well if you think you may not want
to risk Lariam. |