Blog
DEET vs Picaridin – new mosquito repellent
August 10th, 2010Picaridin 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 […]
DVT and sleeping pills
July 28th, 2010Many 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. […]
TB vaccine may help stop melanoma
July 16th, 2010As 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 […]
Malaria rapid test now available for travellers
July 8th, 2010Travellers 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 […]
World Zoonosis Day
July 5th, 2010Animals 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 […]
New tool to treat severe malaria
June 6th, 2010Scientists 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 […]
Rare Eye problem in Kokoda trekker
May 17th, 2010There 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 […]
Is yoghurt safe to eat while travelling
May 12th, 2010A great question – but like much of life, I don’t have a simple answer. Long answer follows: Generally milk products are risky, unless they have been refrigerated, stored correctly etc. I know several patients who have become ill from drinking a lassi – which is a yoghurt-like drink, but that is not quite yoghurt. […]
How fishfarming may be destroying antibiotics
May 12th, 2010Critical human antibiotics are used in fish aquaculture Aquaculture is the farming of freshwater and saltwater organisms such as finfish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. World aquaculture doubled from 1994 – 2004. World aquaculture of food fish in 2004 was 45.5 million tons, of which about two thirds was in China. Unfortunately in some places […]
Rabies in Bali
March 20th, 2010In September 2008, the first cases of rabies were reported in Bali. The number of reported human deaths has now surpassed 40, but only 28 are ‘officially’ reported. No deaths in tourists so far. Post bite vaccination is not readily available in Bali. A Sunshine Coast family were reported to be in Bali for less […]
