--CAUTION --
DO NOT wear flea collars to repel insects not under any
circumstances!!!
Flea collars are NOT labeled for human use.
Contact with the skin may cause severe chemical burns
and absorption of toxic levels of insecticide through the
skin.
e. Avoidance of Unnecessary Exposure. Highly malarious areas such as
unprotected towns or villages should be avoided as much as possible. Swimming and
bathing out-of-doors after sundown should be avoided in areas where there is a risk
from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
5-14. CHEMOPROPHYLAXIS
a. Selecting Drugs to Prevent Malaria. The selection of effective
chemoprophylactic drugs for the prevention of malaria is becoming increasingly difficult
because of drug resistant malaria parasites.
(1) Resistance. Since the early 1960s, the P. falciparum parasite has
developed resistance to most of the drugs available for prophylactic use. The
geographic distribution of this resistance and the level of resistance is changing rapidly.
More and more countries are reporting resistance each year.
(2) Varied level of resistance. In those areas where the parasites are known
to be resistant, the level of resistance varies. In some places, certain drugs are
essentially useless. In other areas, an ever-increasing percentage of the parasites are
not affected by the drug.
b. The Drug of Choice. Chloroquine remains the drug of choice for the
prevention and treatment of malaria caused by P. vivax, P. ovale, or P. malariae.
In some areas of the world, P. falciparum remains sensitive to
chloroquine as well.
When malaria is present in a region, usually more than one of the species
is present.
It is rare to find a region with only one species of malaria. Prophylaxis
must be directed at the most resistant parasite that may be encountered.
c. The Drug to Prevent P. Falciparum. Since P. falciparum causes the most
serious form of disease, it is our greatest concern and the primary objective of our
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