Relapse of malaria after returning home
Mr. H.V.C (from Thanh Hoa) said that during his time working as an excavator in Congo, due to hot and humid weather conditions and many mosquitoes, he contracted African malaria. Initially, he developed symptoms such as chills, body aches, and fatigue. Although covered with many blankets, the chills did not subside.
After about 5 days of high fever, he had to be hospitalized for treatment in Congo. Although he had been treated, the disease still recurred many times, causing his health to decline, his body to be tired for a long time, unable to continue working, so he decided to return to Vietnam.
However, after returning home for about 15 days, he continued to have recurrent fevers, so he was hospitalized for treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. After 8 days of treatment, his health gradually stabilized.
Similarly, Mr. M.H (from Tuyen Quang) said that he had suffered from malaria many times while working in Angola. Each time he developed the disease, he had a high fever of 40-41 degrees Celsius, chills, had to cover himself with many blankets and be treated at hospitals as well as local medical facilities. After returning to Vietnam, the disease continued to recur even though he brought medicine from Angola to use.
Sharing from both patients, there are many mosquitoes in Angola and Congo. Although they wore long-sleeved clothes and slept under mosquito nets to prevent them, they were still bitten by mosquitoes and got sick.
Doctors warn of the risk of severe foreign malaria
According to BSCKII Tran Duy Hung - Head of Virus - Parasitology Department, Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, Vietnam used to be a country with malaria circulation with many areas with malaria parasites. However, thanks to national malaria prevention and control programs, the number of cases in the country has decreased sharply. However, recently, the hospital has received many cases of foreign malaria in people returning from working, working or studying in Africa. This is an area where malaria parasites are still strongly circulating.
According to Dr. Hung, people with malaria often have epidemiological factors such as having lived, worked or traveled through an epidemic area. Typical symptoms of the disease are high fever, chills, then fever and sweating. Some cases may have fever with a fixed rhythm every day or every other day, accompanied by headaches, body aches and prolonged fatigue. "Malaria, if not detected and treated promptly, can progress very severely. There are cases of malignant malaria leading to death in just a few hours," Dr. Hung warned.
Doctors said that malaria is transmitted through Anopheles mosquitoes carrying malaria parasites. Therefore, the most important preventive measure is still to avoid mosquito bites by sleeping under mosquito nets, wearing long-sleeved clothes or using mosquito repellent measures when living in epidemic areas.
Experts also recommend that workers, international students and tourists returning from Africa, if they experience symptoms such as high fever, chills, sweating, headache, fatigue..., should quickly go to a medical facility for examination to avoid the risk of the disease progressing severely.
