Front cover – Dr Deb in Morocco ; Aït_Benhaddou Inside back cover – add info on the app P 16 Info on vaccines and blood donation …If you wish to donate blood, it is advisable to donate prior to vaccination or to delay donation for 3 days after receiving inactivated (dead) vaccines ( eg flu) […]

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Dengue is breaking out in Delhi, just in time for the Commonwealth games. This is not a great surprise. The virus is transmitted by mosquito bites. Dengue mosquitoes breed easily in cities. The dengue mosquito can breed in a pot plant saucer. . City with infected persons + building sites + monsoon = great recipe […]

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“If you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel” ..Department of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government Even if you have insurance, you need to be aware of loopholes. Insurers are expert at finding loopholes so they don’t have to pay your claim. Insurance companies take in a lot more money than they pay out […]

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Picaridin is a new but effective repellent, that some persons find more pleasant to use than DEET. It does not eat your plastic for a start! . ‘DEET’ is the gold standard effective mosquito repellent to apply on your skin. Repellents work by blocking the receptors on the mosquitoes antennae, so the mosquitoes cannot find […]

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Many travellers are desperate to sleep on the aircraft, but many don‘t understand the risk they are taking if they take a sleeping pill. It seems so simple to just take a sleeping pill. They want to sleep and avoid the discomfort of the flight. They want to just wake and it all be over. […]

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As many readers will be aware, Australia has the highest risk of developing melanoma of anywhere in the world. Australians have a lifetime risk of one in 28 persons who live to age 75. Studies have recently shown that vaccination early in life against smallpox (vaccinia) or tuberculosis (BCG) or both, confers a significant and […]

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Travellers who will be visiting places remote from medical care now have the option of taking a test kit for malaria. This Rapid Diagnostic kit allows the traveller to take a sample of blood and accurately test their blood for malaria, so they will know whether they have malaria, and which strain they have. This […]

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Animals are a great source of joy and comfort to humans. However, there are some diseases that people can catch from animals. . Many of the major diseases of humanity are thought to have originated when germs of animals crossed from animals to humans. For example, Measles, is a common infection in children. Measles virus […]

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Scientists have recently found evidence that a heparin like molecule stops malaria parasites entering the blood cells. The current medication for malaria stops the parasite feeding once it is inside the red blood cells. This is preliminary research but looks promising to help with the treatment of malaria. We cannot use heparin itself. It will […]

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There was a recent news report of an Australian MP who contracted n unusual germ halfway across the Kokoda track. He suddenly went blind. The report states he has subsequently recovered some sight in one eye. The germ they report as the suspected cause was referred to as a ‘spiny amoeba’. The technical name for […]

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