Lariam in Sudan

[wilco]

Anyone managed to find Lariam in Khartoum, and at what price? Are there decent and well-stocked pharmacies in the city?

Thanx,

Dave

[docsherlock]

Hi Dave,

You might be better off having this shipped out to you from a reputable European chemist as drugs in your current part of the world are often fake, especially the expensive ones for malaria like Malarone.

Alternatively, if International SOS have a clinic there, they import their drugs independently and can be trusted to supply decent stuff, though they are expensive.

Regards,

Sean

[wilco]

Thanks Sean, I figured that would be the case,

Dave

[tshabalala]

actually we found last year the opposite, in Khartoum there were many well stocked pharmacists especially for lariam and anti-malarials are discounted, cost fraction of cost in Europe and are off good quality, not fake. A lot of this apparently, because of the drive against malaria and they are supplied with good quality drugs (same quality as if you bought in kenya, tanzania or south africa) and providing cheap in efforts of reducing malaria.

[docsherlock]

I think part of the problem is the consistency of supply; I am sure some chemists sell genuine stuff - but definitely some do not. This was studied a couple of years ago and up to 40% of anti-malarial drugs especially the newer ones such as Malarone and Artemesinin type drugs were found to be fake. Consequences are obvious.

I'm not saying you can't get the good stuff there, just be careful, as fake drugs are definitely out there.

Personally, I wouldn't buy from a chemist I was not very, very sure about, hence my suggestion to use the services of a company whose policy and standards I know about.

It is worth bearing in mind that falciparum malaria can kill you quickly.

Still, you pays your money and you takes your choice!

Save travels all,

Sean

[tshabalala]

i take your point, but I think actually a bit excessive and precious in the Khartoum/Sudan scenario. We brought Mefloquene, avaibility wide-spread, and I think as long as you use common precautions and common sense not much to worry about, will save you a lot of time, worry, money and....

[docsherlock]

You don't know the mefloquine was genuine - just 'cos you didn't get malaria doesn't make it so. You paid some money for some tablets in some packaging that looked genuine - that's all. Can't beat the stats I'm afraid.

Like I said, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Being 'precious' is a personal choice - for me, yes, I'm pretty 'precious' about my health.

[Matt Roach]

Interesting....

On both east and west coasts of Africa, I have always been suprised how easy it is to find well stocked pharmacies in capital cities with malaria medication. Most typically sell generics at a fraction of the cost you would find in Europe. I have certainly never had any reason to be concerned by their effectiveness (as I used them on a couple of occasions when I had malaria).

Having read this thread and done some googling, I now wonder what percentage of those drugs are fake? It seems like it is over 50% in South East Asia, per the article below!

Trade in fake malaria drugs is booming - health - 13 June 2006 - New Scientist

Does anyone have any reliable research for Africa?

[TT-Kira]

I think most people who do travel are aware of the risks of 'fakes' out there. They are everywhere, to get the statistics for Africa would be a nightmare but personally I've seen more fake drugs in east than west Africa.

At the end of the day, the OP is asking if 'real' drugs are available in Sudan; Wilco knows Africa well and isn't about to risk life; but on the other hand a long term stay in Africa it can be difficult getting enough drugs prior to leaving if only for their validity amongst other reasons!!

Kira

[2cvfred]

I found the pharmacies in Khartoum to be of very high quality. Very well stocked and knowledgable staff. Looked just like a pharmacy in Europe really.

Malarone was difficult to find, but Lariam wasn't. (generic) Lariam is the most used in Sudan apparantly. They had Lariam and multiple generic alternatives. The generic ones were cheap. I you don't trust them you could always go for the brand, but I didn't see any reason why not to trust them.

[wilco]

Thanks all. 2cvfred, that eases my mind.

Dave

[panderingpeter]

Can't beat the stats I'm afraid.

Indeed you can't. Let's see 'em then..

P.S., perhaps consider visiting a doctor/hospital recommended by your embassy, as most hospitals have pharmacies attached to them. If you're concerned about quality-assurance ask at some of the missions/ngos etc as to where they buy their supplies from.

[docsherlock]

Lets see 'em..

Funnily enough, panderingpeter, it is of no consequence to me where you choose to buy your drugs or the outcome of that decision.....and I have better things to do with my time than try and justify my opinion on an internet forum where someone asked for it.....but just for your info, another user has posted a link in the thread.

[Matt Roach]

There are a few interesting issues coming out of this thread.

I will preface my comments by saying that I have bought malaria medication in a number of African countries on both sides of the continent (including in Khartoum) and have never once been concerned by the quality of the medication, or the packaging, BUT the research below suggests that almost 35% of malarial medication tested in Africa as part of a 2008 study was deemed to be substandard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/health/13glob.html

PLoS ONE: Antimalarial Drug Quality in the Most Severely Malarious Parts of Africa – A Six Country Study

These studies did not consider whether the product was a legitimate generic, or whether it was fake. The situtation is probably complicated somewhat as most generics supplied in North Africa will be labelled in Arabic, and hence it would be difficult to a non native speaker to identify whether the product is a legitimate generic or whether it is fake. Even major drug manufacturers usually brand their product to the local market (albeit with multilingual instructions), so the packaging on these would also tend to be in Arabic.

I am not suggesting that people should not buy generics, and notwithstanding the above, my preference would always be to buy generic drugs locally, due to their availability without prescription, price and expiry. But it seems one might need be to be extra vigilent in looking at the packaging and seals.

Sobering thought really, particularly if you rely on that medication to fix you once you get malaria!

cheers

[petefromberkeley]

I got some vaccinations at the public hospital there and bought antimalarials at the hospital pharmacy. I got malaria which doesn't mean that the medicine was good or that it was bad.