malaria and pregnancy???

i think you have to do it in Namibia if you can but if financially u are prepared to spend a lot then you can have it.

Malaria and the new baby is always a big concern, but remember not every mosquito carries Malaria automatically, some also carry dengue fever. It depends if you have been bitten by a carrier mosquito or not, the safest would be to sleep under mosquito nets, use the aircons as much as possible and rub the family with a mosquito repellent that contains deet. We moved our little boy to Luanda when he was just 4 months old and used Tabard(SA product) which works excellent day and night for keeping mozzies away, even in the hot summer. Just don't use to much on new born baby skin, but mostly it should be safe for the baby.

This is really the only way to feel safe with the Malaria problem. We were there 4 years with 2 children and were bitten about 4 times each and never contracted Malaria. But you need to rub the cream 3 times daily, morning before work and school, afternoon at about 14:00 and then again before sleep and then use the aircons and mozzie nets and you should be relatively Malaria free.

Just a tip for on the beach, don't mix the sunblock with the mozzie cream, we found that the sunblock has a sweat smell which attracts the mozzies even if you mix the 2, they bite right through the mozzie cream if mized with sunblock.

You get a certain spray on the market which contains a sunblock and deet all in one, this works well for keeping the mozzies away and stopping the sun also.

If you have been bitten remember the date and check for simptoms of Malaria after about 3 weeks when the 1st symptoms starts and have it tested right away.

Hope all this helps.

My son is working in Luanda, Talatona. A Norwegian friend of his died in hospital last Wednesday, malaria of brain. My son is coming home for entitled vacation tomorrow and may fly to Norway for the funeral. But I am so worried with him going back. There obviously is a risk despite medications etc ?
I am curious to see has this news spread through the ex-pat commnity.

Malaria death is a common thing for Angolans and sometimes for certain expats, after being in Angola for 4 years I can assure you the news has spread, but sad to say no one in the X Pat community will be overly concerned since malaria and other health issues are a normal risk that anyone takes when they want to work in Angola.

Please don't take me wrong, it is very sad and a loss for family and friends, but the Xpat community are mostly used to this kind of news.

Yes its very true despite medications people still get bitten by mosquitoes and unfortunately sometimes it can be fatal. I ate Angolan meat for 18 months until my appendis ruptured in Angola, I flew out there unable to walk and had a emergency operation in South Africa and spent 2 weeks in hospital to recover from Sepsis.

The Dr told me that if I had flown in 2-3 days later I would also have been dead and I am very lucky to be alive since many people with the same level of bacteria count 405 die in a few days.

There are many things to be careful about in Angola, especially illnesses related to food and food preparation and general hygiene in Angolan restaurants which is basically non-existent.

So to worry all the time about malaria wont help, just take all the precautions that he can and things should be generally fine.

Very important as I always say, if you notice that you have been bitten by a mosquito, write down the date and about 3 weeks there after look for general signs of malaria and have a blood test done in Luanda's better clinics to confirm.

Otherwise fly out to the closest country Namibia or South Africa and ask for a medical Visa the moment you land to go and see a Dr.

I am just saying in Angola malaria is quite treatable if caught early. If it is left to long there is a big risk......

I have been living in Luanda for 3 years now, I do get bitten here and there but we sleep with aircon on all night and also have one of those repellant plug in's ... repellant never worked with me, thye still bite, maybe i havent been using the right one? All I can say is that if you feel really sick, going to a doctor here is pointless, I went to a hispital on Ilha which is apparently private but the doctor that claimed to be able to speak english couldnt understand me and gave me buscopan for  KIDNEY INFECTION, BUSCOPAN IS FOR STOMACH CRAMPS, EVEN i KNOW THAT. i GOT SO SICK THAT MY HUSN=BAND DECIDED TO SEND ME BACK TO NAMIBIA FOR A BIT and when I showed my doc the medication I got, he phoned a friend and gave me a worried look, he told me to throw all the medication away as it was wrong med and after a day in the hospital, I was fine. A south african friend of mine also got sick recently and the doctor prescribed juice for her as she was apparently just dehydrated and it was all in her head, we still laugh about that.