alt Hacker NewsI got malaria twice in Africa. First time bad, second time REAL bad. I thought about death a little.
There was a good story of a Dutchman living in Mali who got malaria a few times (everyone does). It’s manageable with the meds.
Anyway he flies home, then develops symptoms. Goes to hospital and they freak. Full hazmat suits, isolation, doctors visiting from all over because they’d never seen it. Guy ends up dying because they wouldn’t give him the meds, because they didn’t know if it was safe, or what the right thing to do was.
Moral of the story is that for anyone spending time in malaria zones, take the meds home with you. If you get symptomatic, take the meds and maybe not go to hospital in the developed world. Meds I took was “coartem” and an injectable.
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This is one of the reasons why diverse medical teams and having nurses/doctors/pharmacists etc from other countries is a great idea.
Kind of similar to rabies. If you get bit by a rabid animal in an area with lots of rabies, the doctors know what to do and you get meds immediately for cheap.
In the US it's a few thousand dollars for the treatment.
How could two people die from it in Germany with modern medicine? Is malaria randomly fatal despite treatment, or did they not understand what the infection was or not seek treatment or something?
Doesn't the Netherlands have some sort of institute of tropical medicine which deals with exactly those cases?
If you go to a Malaria zone, talk to your doctor to get Malarone and use it prophylactic (depending on the region)
The author of the book Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You had a story like that; he managed to pick up a parasitic fly infection while abroad and had to convince health care workers to cut out the larvae from under his skin.
I have a feeling this is exactly what happened in Frankfurt. It very glaringly points to some failure in the healthcare system.
Healthy working adults with access to healthcare don't just die of malaria. Two deaths means it's not some unique susceptibility in one individual either.
The more interesting investigation would be how the system let two people die of malaria, not how malaria got there.