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No Mosquito Contacts, No Malaria

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Why worry

Prevention

References

 
 

Prevention

We tend to think that certain diseases that are not prevalent in the United States but are in several other countries is not something we should worry about so therefore it tends to be neglected. In this situation, we have failed to acknowledge that people are migrating from those countries to the United States which allows diseases to spread. Immigrant populations from Latin America in the United States are increasing.

Use the following links to find out if your travel destination is a high risk malaria region.

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/
http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/map/

If you are planning to visit Latin or Central American countries, first see a healthcare provider at least a month before traveling to see what preventative measures are needed to avoid getting infected. Make sure to take the drugs prescribed by a medical doctor because not all anti-malaria drugs are safe. The need to see a healthcare provider a couple of weeks before traveling is that some anti-malaria drugs are required to be taken
at least 2 weeks before leaving and continued for a month after leaving the destination.

Pregnant women are not recommended to travel to areas where the risk of getting malaria is high because if infected, it might result in premature birth, miscarriage and stillbirth. If travel must take place then make sure to take drugs to prevent malaria that is prescribed with a medical doctor. This anti-malaria drug can either be chloroquine and mefloquine which have
been reported to be safe for pregnant women. Avoid taking the following anti-malaria drugs due to no known information on their safety for pregnant women:

  • atovaquone/proguanil
  • doxycycline
  • primaquine

The risk of contacting malaria increases with more exposure in the environment. To prevent getting malaria, it is important to avoid being in contact with mosquitoes and not get bitten by them. It is recommended that long sleeves be worn and tucked in with long pants, or wear a long skirt that reaches down to the ankles with long socks. Also the head should either be covered with a scarf or hat. Use screens (nets) to cover windows and doors from outside and use mosquito nets while sleeping.

 

Accessibility | Privacy | ASU Disclaimer This site was created by Ijeoma Ononenyi in fulfillment of requirements for the course TCL 323 : Latino Health Issues taught by Dr. Szkupinski Quiroga at Arizona State University, Fall 2009.