SANParks.org Forums

Thanks a lot onewithnature and rakesh. Will be taking lots of Peaceful sleep. and will take some citronella. Missings.a you are ryt, if it has kids concerned than I think best option is to take extra precautions.

Thanks Rakesh.

It does sound as though there has been a very concerning outbreak. I will take heed.

The first recommendation for (young) children is always to avoid a malarial area if at all possible!

As the child gets older, and is able to take tablets, it may be preferable to try them on antimalarial medication as well as on the standard non-drug measures. However, as missings.a.! says, one has to do a test run a few weeks before going to the malarial area to see what side-effects (if any) the child may experience on the antimalarial medication.

Ultimately, the parents have to make a decision as to (i) whether to take their child(ren) with them to a malarial area; and (ii) whether to add antimalarial medication to the non-drug measures.

As you can see, malaria-prevention recommendations are not cut-and-dried; there are subjective and personal factors that can alter the general recommendations.


Disclaimer: My recommendations here - though based on some experience and some drug knowledge - are not absolute, and further consultation with suitable health-care professionals is suggested before a final decision is taken on whether to enter a malarial area, what prophylaxis to use, and any general factors and limitations that need to be taken into account. Furthermore, I only advise based on what information is given by the person(s) entering the malarial area, but I have no control on the information given to me, and so such information could possibly be incomplete or misleading.

Maybe perspective can help here, as it sounds a bit panicky.

29 deaths out of 2278 cases, is about 1.2%.

How many cases out of the hundreds of thousands who went to the areas recommended?

Sure, 29 is 29, but how many people were killed on the roads getting there & back.

Also what is the age profile?

This article has been issued by the Health Department of Gauteng province so the 29 fatal cases are the reported ones. There could be many more cases which might be not reported.
Road accidents in holiday season are always high but even the small number of 29 death cases due to malaria cant be ignored.
Precautions for any age group is recommended. It completely depends on the visitor to the specified malaria affected area what kind of precaution he/she wants to go for.
The age group sensitive to this disease is mostly young children, elderly, pregnant women and immuno-compromised individuals.

Onewithnature what is the recommended age for children to start the anti malaria medicines?
My baby is one and half years old so we stay away from the malaria affected areas in summer. We prefer to visit the park during winter when the mosquitos are less active and stay in the cottages. Carry bottles of mortein, coils, cover the baby and avoid going out after it gets dark.

Kallis enjoy your long trip in june.

Thanks Rakesh

The first recommendation is always to avoid taking young children to malarial areas! This is often a difficult thing for parents to stomach, for they so want to go on holiday!

Now, Rakesh, you've obviously decided that you'll do everything in your powers to prevent any mosquitoes biting your child, and indeed if he/she does get bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito, that he/she does not contract the disease. This last point is vital as malaria in a child, especially a young child, can progress to a fatal stage far quicker than in an adult. Hence the most effective non-drug measures, that are also safe for your child, is essential. Also, you have indeed chosen a relatively low-risk period to go to Kruger.

As to taking antimalarial tablets, it sounds like your child just falls within the weight-category to begin these tablets. Please confirm your child's weight for me, Rakesh, and I'll suggest from there. Also, when and where are you going?

You have said it Bush Baptist. It is more dangerous getting to Kruger than being there. MUCH MORE!

I do not want to sound blaze about the whole thing, but for me it is really blah blah. Everybody needs to make up their own minds, but when I read some posts about people who do not want to take their infants to Kruger, I start to wonder about the bubbles we live in today.

People make sure you take precautions in terms of repellent, nets, or similar and you will be fine. I have done the same in most of Africa for 20 years and so have my family and my children from the time they were born and we are still around.

Imagine 800 million Africans, with their babies living within these regions every day. What makes their lives any different than ours? Nothing!

Hi One,

Have PM you all the details pls let me know if you want any other info.

Thanks.

I'm with bundi and BB: we have travelled to places like ZA, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania without ever taking any malaria pills and we're still alive and healthy...yes, the risk is there but there are tons of other risks equally as high, a lot of them even higher...you might get bitten by a snake, might be involved in a road accident, might get struck by lightning etc etc...plus: the side effects of malaria pills can almost be as bad as the disease itself - and I certainly would not want to have my holiday ruined by these side effects

We are arriving in Feb and although I would rather feel safe with the protection of the malaria pills I have decided to do without as the side effects are rather catastrophic in my case and utterly ruined our last trip! So its long sleeves and bathing in tabard for me this time, hold thumbs

You will be fine Andrea.

I am no expert on the issues of malaria, but have always taken preventative measures instead. I have worked in Africa for 20 years and have been to more than 40 countries in our continent. Among these I have even stayed for a week on a Congolese fishing trawler and have spent numerous nights deep inside the Central African jungle, without any serious concerns.

Granted during the past 20 years I have picked up malaria a few times, but on each of these were able to be diagnosed very early and received medication, which may have been a different story had I taken malaria medication.