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+--- Thread: Hookworm in Negril 2018 (/showthread.php?tid=102241)
Hookworm in Negril 2018 - JonTom - 10-02-2018
Just returned from Negril and felt a slight itch on my toe. Having had "hookworm" in the past from a different island I thought "oh noooo".
Yep, on closer inspection there is the serpentine track and that extreme "ick" factor realization that a parasite is there.
Dr. confirmed it and informed me that these days it is harder to get the preferred medicine for it (Albendazole). In the US anyway, he said if I were in Africa it would be readily available. Pharmacies can order it, they just don't carry it on hand. I was able to get it 24 hours later. Not bad, but the sooner you treat it, the better. Itch fighting medicine (benadryl type) works in the meantime.
(warning, if you google any of these terms, it may be somewhat gross).
For clarification, because "hookworm" covers many things, specifically this is Ancylostoma braziliense (in the intestines of cats and dogs, but can penetrate outer skin of humans and eventually die there). and the
infection is cutaneous larval migration.
Incidentally, Albendazole was featured in an NPR story just last year as an example of drugs with expired patents that are inexplicably priced 10,000 times higher in the U.S. than in Africa. That's not an exaggeration. $0.04 in Africa and $400.00 in U.S.
(inexplicable unless considering Pharma company profit motive).
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/12/11/567753423/why-a-pill-thats-4-cents-in-tanzania-costs-up-to-400-in-the-u-s
"Why A Pill That's 4 Cents In Tanzania Costs Up To $400 In The U.S."
Insurance had my co-pay at $70 and the "retail price" was listed as $2800 for the total 12 pill dose.
Yes, I walk the beach with no shoes. It also rained very heavily every day the past week or so. Not sure if that matters, but I think flooding can distribute the ill effects of dogs/cats roaming the beaches.
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - Yooper - 10-02-2018
I've brought the hook worm home on 2 different occasions from the Negril beach.
I still walk bare foot, but wear my "slippahs" about half of the time now, and always wear them in the dark.
I have Albendazole on hand at all times now. Every couple of years I buy new so I have fresh.
I buy it at the Negril pharmacy. Talked to the pharmacist and explained this is a tropical problem the tourist sometimes get and that the drug is difficult to obtain in foreign.
He understood completely and prescribed Qty 3 400mg pills.
I don't have the last receipt here handy but I found an old receipt. In 2010 I paid 350j per pill.
I go to Negril 2 times a year and spend at least 2 weeks each time, so the chance of me getting this again is fairly good.
If I get this again I will self treat.
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - JonTom - 10-03-2018
Thanks for the tip Yooper. I think 2010 350JMD is about 560JMD today, but that is still a much better price than I'd pay in the U.S. (even with insurance).
I actually had a few pills left over from prior infection, but they may have been too old at some point - I couldn't find them, probably finally threw them out. Think I'll be making a trip to Negril pharmacy on my next trip. Having the Rx on hand would make me feel much better.
Since posting, learned I have it in 4 toes.
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - Firemon - 11-10-2018
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - Sharleen - 11-10-2018
I got it too last January, my first time ever in travelling to Jamaica for decades. I do usually stay on the cliffs though. I think I got it on New Year's Eve on the beach. It was the only time I walked barefoot on wet sand. Unreal ITCH... just on my big toe..
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - CardBoardBox - 11-04-2021
Found this article November 2021 about Hookworm in the USA and remembered this board had information, so here it is.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/04/texas-sanitation-sewage-deadly-parasite
With all the scientific mumbo jumbo with our current plague and treatment, I noticed the article mentioned drugs and human factors which make this worm worse. Same parallel about carriers.
I consider the tourist area of Negril as maintaining high standards, but I also remember that USA doctors are not well versed with this problem.
I am having 2nd thoughts about stray cats using my garden as their toilet however.
RE: Hookworm in Negril 2018 - kylake - 11-05-2021
If you want to be proactive and have been walking barefoot a lot on sand or soil you can get the product at a pharmacy while in Negril for about 4 bucks and without any prescription. We have bought it before just in case...