taking baby to africa? malaria?

[missytequila]

does anyone know how young it is advisable to take a baby to west africa? i seem to remember someone telling me to wait until the baby is one year old...something to do with malaria medicine... any advice? experience doing this?

We took ds and dd to Bangladesh when dd was 6 months old. We had malaria tablets and we all took them, also had to be very careful about sleeping under nets. Used creme/lotion if we were going out in the evening.

They still managed to bite us through the net and ds had a fever when we got back and we had to take him to the tropical illness institute for a blood test. He was OK but you have to check if they get a fever after being in a country where there is malaria.

I was more worried about dengue fever and other things to be honest like the dc getting food poisening etc.

You need to ask yourself what the medical facilities are like where you are going, what treatments they use for malaria if your baby were to get it (some work better than others) etc. Small babies can be given anti malarials, but there is very little research in dosages under 3 months of age. Children over 11kg can have malarone, if I remember correctly.

It depends on your assessment of risks, really. I am really jumpy about malaria, simply because I knew a baby who died (in southern Africa), & my personal rule of thumb is not to take a non-verbal child into a malarial area. I want her to be able to tell me she's ill, if you see what I mean.

Depends on where you're going and what the recommended prophylactic regime is for that area. I took DD to India at 9 months -- in the end we didn't go to a malarial area, but I took medical advice beforehand as there was a chance we might change plans and go to Goa, which is malarial. We filled a prescription for chloroquine and proguanil, with dosage based on her weight, before we went. Some areas c&p isn't enough/recommended any more, so it's something to talk through with a specialist at a travel clinic. Some of the other anti-malarials are Ok for use in babies under a year and some aren't.

Most travel vaccinations (hepatitis, typhoid, etc.) aren't licensed for use in the under-1s, though, so if you are travelling to an area where those are normally recommended then you'll need to factor that into your decision.

Malaria is a serious problem in many parts of Africa and there is alot of chloroquine resistance. The types of malaria found in parts of Africa is more likely to be fatal than the indian sub continent. Where are you thinking of going?? Its worth looking at the fit for travel website and NATHNAC.

Where abouts in West Africa are you going? Will you be staying in a hotel with a/c and keeping mainly to touristy areas or will you be going 'up country' into more rural areas? What time of year will you be travelling?

Fwiw, I have had two babies whilst living in West Africa and none of us have ever had malaria whilst living there.

You can give paediatric malarone after the baby reaches 11kg. Malarone is the most effective prophylactic the others are either no longer recommended or not suitable for children.

The usual advice and something we totally lived by was, given that peak malarial mozzie biting time is between 9pm and dawn, during that time keep baby and yourself covered, long sleeves and trousers, use repellant and sleep under an insecticide treated net, preferably with aircon. During the day the bites are a nuisance rather than dangerous.

The baby will most likely need to have a yellow fever vaccination, which is fine from 9mths onwards. And a course of hepatatis b vaccs. Iirc typhoid vacc is also possible post 12mths.

Re this comment:-
"During the day the bites are a nuisance rather than dangerous".

This is not so. It only takes ONE bite from an infected mosquito to contract malaria.

Do you really need to travel to West Africa at this time?.

Attila it is the anopheles mosquitoes, mainly A Gambiae in West Africa, who carry the malarial parasites, not all mosquitoes do. The anopheles appear from dusk to dawn and are not around during the daytime.

You can trust me, not only have i lived in Africa for quite some years but I do also have a masters in Public Health .