Iberostar Punta Cana- Malaria Risk?

[Redtop]

This is a great debate and I think everyone's perspective will help us all know what is right for us!

[aMacFan]

Malaria is a disease where the effects can re-occur for the rest of your life.

Novo-chloroquine is taken once a week for 2 weeks before you go, while you are there, and then 8 weeks after your return. You can drink alcohol while you are taking it.

Personally, would rather incur any side effects than have the malarial symptoms every year.

[mattm]

Originally Posted by aMacFan

Malaria is a disease where the effects can re-occur for the rest of your life.

Novo-chloroquine is taken once a week for 2 weeks before you go, while you are there, and then 8 weeks after your return. You can drink alcohol while you are taking it.

Personally, would rather incur any side effects than have the malarial symptoms every year.

So there are 2 types of people, it seems:

Type 1: Better safe than sorry.
Type 2: I'm unlikely to be sorry, so ...

It really comes down to your personality and attitude toward risk, I think. I traveled to New Delhi in November, which is hot on the heels of the dengue fever season in that region. Lots of media attention was put on dengue, but there were only thousands of cases among something like 13 billion persons. My colleagues in India laughed when I asked if I should cancel my trip, saying "yes, cancel the trip if you were planning on camping on a construction site or field where there is a lot of standing water...where the mosquitoes that carry dengue emanate from. Don't bother canceling if you are staying at the Radisson :-)"

The point is -- if you are planning an atypical vacation to the D.R. where you will be hanging around in the forest and getting yourself deeply embedded in the country, TAKE THE PILLS! If you are going to a decent resort, are sensible in the evenings (long sleeves, not hanging around in swamps, etc.)...perhaps you could get away without the pills. I fall into the second category...plus the cloroquine gives me an upset stomach and weird dreams.

YMMV.

[2LeftFeet]

There are 3 types of malaria. The deadly type--which is non re-occurring --you cure it and get on with your life. or you don't and you die.

But since you are in the DR and not the outbacks of some African nation where it takes you 5 days by foot to get you to a clinic during the rainy season you will be treated. You will survive because by the time you come down with the symptoms you will be sitting in a Starbucks a short taxi ride away from a hospital.

They will draw you blood and know a short time later what is wrong with you. They will give you the proper Anti-malaria pills-- the ones that you were thinking about taking and voila-- you will be cured. (they will look online and see that the only type of malaria is ...... (i think it's the deadly one in the DR which you will be cured of because see above)

If I am mistaken and it's one of the other 2 malarias -----it can remain dormant for years and you might not even know that you have it. Then one day.....

You will not die from it. It can re-occur everytime you are stress out.

If you do get sick from it prior to it remaining dormant -- see above--- you will be treated and be sent on your way.

The only time you die from it is when you IGNORE it ---Which is difficult to do because you are on YOUR DEATH BED!!!!! or if you live 5 days away from the the clinic during the rainy season.----which you don't!

[Lambada]

We took the malarial prophylaxis every week for the first 6 years we lived here (1992-1998) regardless of side effects. Fortunate really because when I got toxoplasmosis, apparently (according to UK tropical medicine specialists) I only got a very mild dose because I had sufficient malaria prophylaxis in my system to counterract it.