Malaria

[tamborine]

How serious is malaria for an overweight man at 50y+. He arrived from Brisbane 48hrs ago & been rushed into hospital.

[jno]

it's pretty serious, it needs quick treatment. I don't know how weight affects it.

[tamborine]

Just a descriptive weight. Can you expand on the treatment pls.

[jno]

have a look through here

http://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/directory/m/malaria-disease

[Buenchico]

It's a serious disease but prompt treatment (usually with the same drugs which are used in anti-malarial tablets taken prior to travelling) can usually get it sorted:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/malaria/Pages/Introduction.aspx

[Peter Pedant]

malaria comes in four flavours
three are OK ( ovale malariae and vivax )
and the fourth is bad news ( falciparum )
and one is really bad news ( chloroquine resistance falciparum )

chloroquine is the drug of choice still for the first three
and for the fourth - ask the doctors - artemisium I think

He is unlikely to have got it in Brisbane ( oz is malaria free since 1982 ) so where else has he been ?

Mefloquiine ( Larium ) has been in the news ( it drives you mad ) but he is the other end of what happens if you dont take your malaria tablets ....( that is you may get malaria )

[Peter Pedant]

charlie Webster is on a ventilator with it ( malaria ) in Rio
( ventilator = life support machine )
gives you some idea of how serious it CAN be

and yes chloroquine resistance and proguanil resistance is present in South America....