Q. Are there different types of Malaria that require different types of meds?
A. Malaria is a paradoxical disease. There are different strains and types. Areas which have previously not experienced cerebral malaria, for example, may begin to see it. The CDC or WHO (Centers For Disease Control & World Health Organization) are the best resources for this information–for medical providers.
Q. How should I find out what kind of meds I need?
A. AIM strongly recommends that each of you contact a travel clinic or tropical medicine clinic that practices in these specialities. Get an appointment with one of these clinics or providers and review both your health history and travel route. They receive continual updates on tropical and world health issues and know which medications are the most current for either prophylactic or curative use. Shepherd Services included the contact info for these clinics across the USA in the blue packets which we gave out at the September WR training.
Q. How much medication can I buy at one time?
A. Check with your health insurance and prescription coverage to see how much medication they will fill at one time. They may be able to make an exception in your case. In the event that they require documentation of your pending travel with the WR, please contact us and we will provide you with a letter.
Q. Can AIM recommend which medication I should get?
A. AIM would not be the best resource for recommending one medication over another. It is most important that our WRers follow the guidelines given to them by a travel or tropical medicine practitioner. What may have been the best practice choice of a malaria medication last year may not be the best medication for 2007.
Q. How much Malaria medication do I need?
A. You should make this decision with your medical practitioner. However, AIM would like to point out that ALL of the countries you will be visiting have a Malaria risk. It is not outrageous to believe that you should be on an anti-malarial pill for 12 months.
Q. Is it safe to be on an anti-malarial medication for 12 months?
A. It may depend on the medication, but there are definitely options available where long-term use is not an issue.
Q. What if I have more questions?
A. Email MaryBeth at
[email protected]
.
