His doctor says that he has never heard of malaria recurring after such a long time. my friend finds the symptoms are very similar. Any help welcomed.
Malaria is a disease that once you have it you dont get rid of it. Thoug it is HIGHLY unlikely that it would reoccure after all these years unless he has had outbreaks that he may not have recognised.
The parasite is relatively protected from attack by the body's immune system because for most of its human life cycle it resides within the liver and blood cells and is relatively invisible to immune surveillance. the parasite displays adhesive proteins on the surface of the infected blood cells, causing the blood cells to stick to the walls of small blood vessels, thereby preventing through the general circulation and the spleen where it can be distroyed. It is unknown just how long the parasite can reside undetected in the human host as there are several second and third generation medications that effectively irradicate most of the vector that are used for other illnesses.
So no not impossible but also not likely unless he has had chronic occurances.
it's probably hepatitis c, it can cause a wide range of symptoms similar to malaria…i would certainly have him tested for hcv since he is a veteran and the chances of those veterans having HCV is a whopping 75%!
HCV is commonly spread through mass innoculation and given to those to this very day in the armed services.
Good luck!