Some time ago I posted a story about our trip through Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, etc..., under the title "Pain and Delight in Cambodia". The end of the trip was, as you might remember, celebrated with malaria and other diseases. They say that malaria is nasty and/or difficult to cure and I am a living witness of this. Here's what happened two months after I thought being cured :
Two weeks ago, on a friday I suddenly had a new access of fever, for no real reason. Slightly anxious, I didn't lose time and went to a small private lab for a bloodtest the next day. Got the result the same afternoon : malaria vivax. The same strain my friend Lee had. To double-check I consulted another lab that same day. Result came later in the evening : malaria falciparum. The one I had before. Typical for the bad infrastructure and low education of doctors and nurses in Phnom Penh, the margin of error is high. But what if falciparum had come back, together with vivax? Vivax maybe having a longer incubation period.
Next day, sunday, while having fever again I went to one more lab which did two different bloodtests. Received the result on monday : "Sir, we didn't find anything in your blood, you don't have malaria". Very confusing and frightening how everything can go wrong when you have a medical problem in this town. I knew it was malaria because the fever had recurred exactly 48 hours after the first crisis. So we were monday already and the National Center of Malaria was open. They use the same tests as the very expensive Pasteur Institute and also have reasonably reliable staff. And there I could see by myself that I was infected with malaria vivax. That means that I had two strains in me without knowing it. The first cure had probably killed the falciparum but was ineffective for vivax.
Now I had to take chloroquine, but to make sure that all the parasites would be eliminated from the liver it is indispensable to continue with primaquine for the next 21 days. Primaquine is dangerous for Asians as they lack a certain enzym in their liver and is therefore unavailable in Phnom Penh or the rest of Cambodia. I was about to order it through my parents in Belgium when I received a message from friends who found some in Chiang Rai. Am now waiting for the little package to arrive and I hope with all my heart that I'll finally get rid of all those nasty parasites. A problem never comes alone... I feel much more vulnerable than ever before.
Also seems that everything has to come at the same time while I hardly had any problem for years. My friend Lee is in much worse condition than me, having had malaria vivax and dengue at the same time. He was not improving and is now diagnosed with hepatitis E. Just incredible.
Meanwhile I order each and every one of you to destroy any mosquito you can lay your hands on, particularly the females. It's indeed the female Anopheles that transmits the disease to humans. Another proof that women are nothing but trouble. Alright, I'm just joking....
Maybe.
Two weeks ago, on a friday I suddenly had a new access of fever, for no real reason. Slightly anxious, I didn't lose time and went to a small private lab for a bloodtest the next day. Got the result the same afternoon : malaria vivax. The same strain my friend Lee had. To double-check I consulted another lab that same day. Result came later in the evening : malaria falciparum. The one I had before. Typical for the bad infrastructure and low education of doctors and nurses in Phnom Penh, the margin of error is high. But what if falciparum had come back, together with vivax? Vivax maybe having a longer incubation period.
Next day, sunday, while having fever again I went to one more lab which did two different bloodtests. Received the result on monday : "Sir, we didn't find anything in your blood, you don't have malaria". Very confusing and frightening how everything can go wrong when you have a medical problem in this town. I knew it was malaria because the fever had recurred exactly 48 hours after the first crisis. So we were monday already and the National Center of Malaria was open. They use the same tests as the very expensive Pasteur Institute and also have reasonably reliable staff. And there I could see by myself that I was infected with malaria vivax. That means that I had two strains in me without knowing it. The first cure had probably killed the falciparum but was ineffective for vivax.
Now I had to take chloroquine, but to make sure that all the parasites would be eliminated from the liver it is indispensable to continue with primaquine for the next 21 days. Primaquine is dangerous for Asians as they lack a certain enzym in their liver and is therefore unavailable in Phnom Penh or the rest of Cambodia. I was about to order it through my parents in Belgium when I received a message from friends who found some in Chiang Rai. Am now waiting for the little package to arrive and I hope with all my heart that I'll finally get rid of all those nasty parasites. A problem never comes alone... I feel much more vulnerable than ever before.
Also seems that everything has to come at the same time while I hardly had any problem for years. My friend Lee is in much worse condition than me, having had malaria vivax and dengue at the same time. He was not improving and is now diagnosed with hepatitis E. Just incredible.
Meanwhile I order each and every one of you to destroy any mosquito you can lay your hands on, particularly the females. It's indeed the female Anopheles that transmits the disease to humans. Another proof that women are nothing but trouble. Alright, I'm just joking....
Maybe.
