by Ozymandias » Thu Jan 11, 2024 2:31 pm
That sounds like quite an adventure Kurt, look forward to the pictures!
When I first moved to Africa (Sudan) in 2005 or 2006 I read all the horror stories about Malaria so I started taking Doxycycline. I look back in horror now at how many months straight I would go taking it every day. I didn't get any of the side effects like nausea or sun-sensitivity, but it's an antibiotic so taking it long-term has the same effects as any other: potentially messing up your digestive tract, turning you into a breeding ground for antibiotic-resistant bacteria etc. I came off it in Angola and immediately caught Malaria, pretty badly! But since then I've never taken Malaria prophylaxis, and never caught it again. I'm not even particularly careful. The only time I take tablets to avoid Malaria now are on long expeditions (such as down the Kwanza in 2016 and down the Mangoky in 2022) where I cannot afford to get sick, and will be a long way from a hospital. Taking Doxycycline also has the other added benefit of reducing your chances of diarrhea and various other infections you might get from being on a dirty river for over a month.
As soon as there's a Malaria vaccine available on private health insurance, I'll be getting it. I've already had the Dengue vaccine as I live in a Dengue area and get munched all the time by mosquitoes.