Malaria and Dengue in North Sulawesi?

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I'm from Singapore. And even in this clean country dengue is a problem, Unless I'm going to ultra remote places in papua, malaria is the least of my worries in north Sulawesi. Dengue is a different story. If I was you, i'll worry about dengue not malaria. Get your insect repellents.
 
Extract from the Jakarta Post dated jan 2019.

" Published on 21 Jan 2019
People should be extra mindful of the spread of dengue fever amid the rainy season, when dengue-bearing mosquitos are most active, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to Health Ministry records, three provinces have declared a dengue fever emergency as of Monday: North Sulawesi, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Central Kalimantan
."

What was your well informed "travel center" saying again?

tssk tssk tskk ....:banghead:
In Singapore dengue is an even bigger issue during the dry season as heat makes the mosquitos breed faster. Its not just the rainy season you have to worry about. The aedes mosquito has adapted very well to our urban environment. Use insect repellents. sorry if I sound like a broken record.
 
Please don't let all this scare you from travelling in SE Asia. Its an awesome place with great diving. Be sensible, do your research. This forum is a great place for it. Like Luko said, unless your doctor is a tropical medicine specialist who has lived in SE Asia and travelled extensively around it, take their advice with a pinch of salt. they err on the side of caution which is only to be expected.
 
The mosquitos that carry malaria and those that carry dengue are different species, with different breeding cycles active at different times of day. Dengue is most likely to be contracted by being bitten during the daytime (along with some of the other maladies not mentioned here like chikungunya), malaria at night. Also consider treated clothing but note that the treatment on the clothing (i.e., permethrin) only works if a mosquito lands then walks over it (more likely with the species that carry malaria) and less likely to work on a mosquito that lands and punches right through (dengue).
 
Thank you for the info @acidrush and @drjtprice !

I suspected the medical advice of the travel center here is really just parroting the info provided by worldwide travel sites which is exactly why I asked here. Real world experience! The lady doing the analysis for me mentioned that I was the first Indonesia traveler she had dealt with. :confused:

EDIT: Maybe a moderator could/should change the subject title to "Malaria & Dengue in Sulawesi?" so others may find the Dengue information. Thanks. :)
 
You can easily get the information online from several different Government agencies (UK, US, Australia). The UK considers North Sulawesi low risk (but Halmahera is high risk). As I recall I did not use malarone (which is what I typically use, have never had any problems and have had vertigo in the past, YMMV) in Sulawesi (where I was in the jungles) but did on Halmahera. This is from the UK (NHS) - "antimalarial tablets are not usually recommended, however, they can be considered for certain travellers who may be at higher risk e.g. longer stay in rural areas, visiting friends or relatives, those with medical conditions, immunosuppression or those without a spleen" for areas classed as low risk. Especially try to avoid being bitten between dusk and dawn. US is a bit more vague. Malaria incidence in most of the region, and even in Halmahera has been going down in recent years. But, with anything, it is a risk decision. Malaria can be exceptionally nasty, so one has to decide how much risk they are willing to take.
 
I've lived in Singapore for 19 years didn't get dengue heh. But that's because education for eradication helps.

Did not take anti-malaria tablets on my two trips to indo. Key is to do liveaboards and deet up on land excursions. There's no scientifically proven repellant other than deet.

There are no recommended dengue vaccines yet for tourists.
 
We have been to SEA in general and Indonesia in particular on scores of occasions. We have never taken malaria tablets and I honestly cannot ever remember meeting a diver who did.

If the travel clinic also sells these vaccines and tablets , then of course it is in their interest to think along the lines of more is more. We use a body lotion that contains a non DEET repellant and rarely if ever get bitten on our trips.
 

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