The Borneo wetlands teem with darting birds, slithering snakes and dangling orangutans.
Blood-sucking leeches and slim, coiled microbes also abound. Some folks find out about these guys the hard way.
Mary, 46, was a longtime marathon runner from Southern California. She was in my office at UCLA Medical Center for a checkup because she was training for a competition in Borneo, a rugged rainforest island in Southeast Asia. Along with 304 fellow athletes from 26 countries, the petite, fearless blonde was to compete in the Eco-Challenge, a multisport race in which athletes trek through jungles, kayak on muddy rivers and bike over jagged mountains.
I pleaded with her to take precautions for her health given the jungle conditions. “Borneo is swarming with mosquitoes and malaria,” I said. “Won’t you please fill a prescription for malaria pills?”
