HJ

Anyway, I guess it’s not malaria if he says not, he should know, and I’m glad he’s better!

But yes, malaria is forever. The longer it’s been since you got infected the less likely recurrence is, but it does happen.

Further, this post was not meant to belittle the problem of malaria worldwide. When I said “For those of you who didn’t study infectious disease before 1940 and/or colonial American history. . .” I didn’t mean to suggest that those were the only ways one might encounter malaria in the modern world. Those are just the disciplinary trainings of me and Fratguy.

The Cold War is only part of the story (and keep in mind that the struggle between the capitalism/communism was largely fought through proxy wars and economic aid to various parts of the global south). Prior to the Cold War, concerns about how to control malaria were a central issue for the British Empire and other imperialist endeavors by various European powers (of which the American colonies were one).

I don’t see anything “hilarious” about the CDC’s explanation about why there is no vaccine. It’s similar to the reason why we need a new vaccine for influenza every year. Every microorganism adapts to changes in its environment and malaria and influenza are especially malleable. Current studies are sponsored by the World Health Organization, not the U.S. military.

There are other environmental issues as well. Prior to the 1970s, prevention involved using massive amounts of DDT to kill the mosquito. This caused all sorts of environmental problems and human diseases (i.e. cancer), while also causing the mosquito to develop resistance to the pesticide.

In short, malaria has proved to be a more intractable problem than can be solved by a simple “magic bullet”.

Lariam’s the prophylaxis that causes psychosis. Fansadar can make all your skin fall off. But malorone is pretty easy to tolerate, and they’ve now approved doxycycline as prophylaxis as well. I don’t know if those two get used as treatment, though.