Another week … another disaster involving tourists. This tragic incident involved a Bhudda Air flight from Kathmandu over Everest, which crashed on its return to Kathmandu. Sixteen people were killed. Again the thought “Gee, that could have happened to me.” I took that same flight in 2001 with my son Benjamin. The weather was perfectly [...]
Disaster and Diarrhea
September 25th, 2011 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Tags:Delhi Belly·dengue·Everest·India·malaria·nepal·TRAVELLER'S DIARRHEA
mefloquine …. still a place for travellers?
September 18th, 2011 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Mefloquine (Lariam) has been one of the mainstays of antimalarial prevention since the parasite (P. falciparum) developed resistance to chloroquine. It has been available in Canada since the early 90s, and has been the subject of controversy ever since. A major part of that controversy stems from the behaviour of a Canadian soldier in Somalia. [...]
Tags:Contagion·Lariam·malaria·mefloquine·Stae of Wonder
What Me Worry?!
September 5th, 2011 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
It is pretty easy for me to look after the “high-risk” traveller, that is, one going off to the middle of nowhere for a long time with very little money, medical support and perhaps common sense! I recommend most of the shots (though they often can’t afford them) and REALLY stress the importance of one’s [...]
Tags:low risk traveller·malaria·vaccination
Travel meeting tidbits
May 15th, 2011 · No Comments · Uncategorized
As promised, here is a brief synopsis of last week’s meeting of The International Society of Travel Medicine in Boston. Firstly the ball game at Fenway against Minnesota … started off with clear skies, but rapidly deteriorated into a two hour rain delay. The field crew sure worked a lot harder than the ballplayers. Unravelling [...]
Tags:dengue·Fenway Park·ISTM·malaria
Celebrity Sickness
January 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · Uncategorized
Screen idol and humanitarian George Clooney recently came down with malaria after a trip to observe the election in Southern Sudan. (see article). Malaria is actually decreasing in Africa after many years, but still, nearly a million children die each year of the parasitic infection. Some of the reasons for this persistent tragedy include poor [...]