Dozen Marines contract malaria after Liberia mission, officials say

Associated Press ^ | 09-08-03

[MEG33]

Bad news.

[yankeedame]

And pray God that's all...there are some mighty nasty things that crawl,bite,creep,sting,fly, and ooze between your toes over there.

[steplock]

Did someone forget the chloroquinine?

Or doews the new stuff NOT work?

[cjshapi]

A daughter of my friend just spent some time teaching in one of those African countries whose name keeps changing. Before she left she was innoculated for everything under the sun and still got malaria.

[colorado tanker]

That's what I want to know. Either someone screwed up not getting the troops medically prepared for the deployment or what they got didn't work. I would never go into a malaria area without chloroquinine. (Which I usually supplement with the quinine from gin and tonic.)

[GovernmentShrinker]

I'm no expert on the subject, but preventing malaria isn't all that simple. I'd had it twice by the time I was 5, while living in central Africa as the dependent of a Foreign Service officer. We were taking the prescribed anti-malarial drugs, but they were apparently not effective against all strains.

[Tredge]

Think of the story if we'd sent thousands of soldiers to Liberia like the liberals wanted.

[colorado tanker]

I agree that the prophaltic doesn't always work, particularly as malaria strains mutate. But this sounds like a pretty high incidence. Has the disease gotten that far ahead of the drugs?

[jalisco555]

Back when I was in school I remember reading that the population of the world would be twice what it is today if malaria had not existed. Most Americans have no concept what a terrible disease it is.

[steplock]

I caught Falciprum (sp?) Malaria and Malarium Malaria (the nasty version) - don't quote me on medical names please - while in Vietnam.

I did not take the chloroquinine tabs as prescribed before I caught the nasty version and spent a month in the hospital (temp up to 106.8 recorded). After seeing what happened to me and a few others, the rest began to take their tabs daily without fail and we had very few cases afterwards.

It is very odd that almost all of the original squad came down with malaria which only leads to one of two conclusions...
1. They did not have medicine
2. What they did have didn't work

[GovernmentShrinker]

I'm really not sure if resistant strains have been developing, or if there are just too many strains requiring different preventative measures. My own experience is from the mid-1960s, and unfortunately it doesn't sound as if there's been a lot of improvement in this area.

[Walkingfeather]

I think I have heard the new stuff ( I think that is for malaria) makes you a murderous bastard... they think it is why they were getting some many soldiers killing their wives when they got home

[CholeraJoe]

Chloroquine is not recommended for malaria prevention in West Africa due to resistance by the most virulent strain. Mefloquine weekly or daily doxycycline is about 90% effective. Someone screwed up. Either the Navy doc or the commander.

[steplock]

that's right - and if there was a doubt about the safety issues, the Commandant would refuse to have his Marines take the stuff.

It's nice to have leadership that really looks after the troops - - now if we can only get all the other leadership to follow the CMC's example!

CMC = Commandant of the Marine Corps!

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the expert info.

[CholeraJoe]

That's Mefloquine. It can cause seizures, depression or psychosis. Doxycycline has the disadvantage of having to be taken daily but it's much less toxic and is effective against bacterial infections, too.

[anymouse]

Marine ping

[Walkingfeather]

thanks for the clarification... guess you would know with a name like cholera joe : )