Mefloquine and pregnancy

I am 24 weeks pregnant and am embarking shortly on a two week holiday to the Kenyan coast. I have been prescribed Mefloquine by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. However, the leaflet from the manufacturers says not to take Mefloquine if pregnant. I am therefore unsure as to whether it is safe to take Mefloquine in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Mefloquine is considered safe in pregnancy after the 16th week, so the prescription is correct but you should have been told.



Chloroquine and p-pills

Does the drug Chloroquine for Malaria affect birthcontrol pills

No



Twinrix and pregnancy

I recently got my 4th hepatitis A and B booster shots and fear that i may pregnant within the same month.is it safe ???

There are no studies of hepatitis A and B vaccinations in pregnancy, but tehre is no data showing it is dangerous, so I would not be concerned.



Vietnam for 3 years and pregnancy

My husband and I are in the process of relocating to work in Vietnam for 3 years. I will be based in Ho Chi Minh City but we would obviously like to travel and see other parts of Vietnam while we are there. Can you please advise me if any of the recommended vaccinations require us to wait until trying to conceive and what the recommended timeframes are?

You would need immunizations against hepatitis A and B, typhoid, japanese encephalitis and probably rabies. None of these vaccines contains live virus or bacteria and any risk to the fetus is purely theoretical. However, they have not been tested in pregnant women (for obvious reasons) so the general rule is that you avoid pregnancy until some weeks (two to four) after the last vaccination.



Tetanus, hepatitis A and pregnancy

I recently had a vaccination for tetanus and Hepatitis A. My questions: My husband and I plan to start a family, is it safe for me to conceive soon after receiving these vaccines? How will it affect the fetus? Or should I wait a while before trying to conceive?

There is no risk. Both vaccines contain no live bacteria or virus.



Malaria, chloroquine and pregnancy

I am going to Sri Lanka for my honeymoon and have been prescribed Paludrine / Avloclor. My partner and I want to try for a baby as soon as we can and have been give conflicting advice about how long to wait after leaving Sri Lanka due to the risk of malaria. What do you think?

Paludrine and chloroquine (Avloclor) is among the safest medicines for malaria in pregnancy. No drug can, however, be regarded as completely safe, so the usual rule is to avoid pregnancy while takeing antimalaria tablets. It would be reasonable to avoid pregnancy four weeks after taking the last tablets.



Conception and travel

My husband and I decided to take a trip to South Africa in mid-September for 10 days. Following that, we would like to try to conceive. How long after the trip should we wait? We will be taking all the appropriate pills and getting the shots required prior to our trip.

There is no general rules, and I suppose you primarily are thinking of malaria pills. The need for malaria pills in South Africa is limited to Krüger National park. If you take malaria pills i suggest you used malarone, which you only need to take 7 days after leaving the malarious area. The drugs in malarone has a short half life, and concenption is safe 2 weeks after the last pill.



Conception after visit to Africa

How long after traveling to Africa should one wait to try and conceive? I understand it is not recommended for pregnant women to take malaria prevention medication, but how long after discontinuing the medication will I need to wait to conceive? Are there any other complications to consider?

There are no general rules and no recommendation for any "quarantene period". If you have taken lariam as prophylaxis a months period is recommended and a four week period after immunization with yellow fever is also recomended. Do not become pregnant when you take Malarone or Doxycycline, but these drugs have a short half-life and and prolonged "safety-period" of more than a few days is not sensible.



Pregnancy and The Gambia

Just found out that I am 5/6 wks pregnant and already have a 7 day holiday booked to The Gambia. Had all relevant injections couple of years ago and understand that I cannot take malaria tablets. What risks should I consider and should I be going at all?

It is not advisable to go to The Gambia without taking malaria tablets. It is correct that no malaria tablets is considered safe during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. So even though there is no speciifc data showing that Malarone may be harmful to the child, we really dont know if there is a risk. If you cancel your travel you should be able to get it fully refunded with a letter from your doctor saying that you cannot travel for the reasons stated above.



China and 20 weeks pregnant

i have planned a 3 weeks travel to China starting in Beijing and 2 weeks in southern China including a 4 days sailing trip on teh Yangtse river. I received a tetanus booster a year ago and is helthy. Do I need any shots and are tehre any risk for the baby ?

We recommend a vaccination against infectious hepatitis. If you visit Yunnan and Hainan you need to take malaria prophylaxis. However, it is difficult to find an effective and safe drug when you are pregnant so our advice is, that you avoid these two provinces.



Pregnancy and Thailand

we are planning a 3 weeks holliday in Thailand visiting Phuket and Bangkok and a short trip to Kwai. I am pregnant in week 18 and my question is if there is any risk for the child from the travel, the vaccinations and the malaria tablets?

There is no risk from the travel. Pregnant women tolerate air travels quite well if you otherwise are healthy. There should be no problems vaccinating you against hepatitis A, diphteria and tetanus, and you do not need any malaria tablets for the destinations you mention.