Despite the information available at our fingertips malaria deaths are on the increase as British travellers ignore the dangers of the disease, despite celebrities suffering from the malaria and offering warnings, giving the illness a higher profile in the media and more publicity.
Approximately 40% of the world’s population, mostly those living in the world’s poorest countries, are at risk of malaria. Every year, more than 500 million people become severely ill with malaria. Most cases and deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. Travellers from malaria-free regions going to areas where there is malaria transmission are highly vulnerable – they have little or no immunity and are often exposed to delayed or wrong malaria diagnosis when returning to their home country.
A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
Malaria tablets.
- Start before travel as guided by your travel health advisor (with some tablets you should start three weeks before).
- Take the tablets absolutely regularly, preferably with or after a meal.
- It is extremely important to continue to take them for four weeks after you have returned, to cover the incubation period of the disease. Atovaquone/proguanil (Malarone) requires only 7 days post-travel)
No malaria tablets work 100% of the time, so it is essential that the right precautions are taken:
· Use mosquito repellent with DEET (diethyltoluamide) in adequate concentration for maximum protection.
· Keep arms, legs and feet covered, if possible, with light-coloured clothing, previously treated using clothing spray.
· Stay indoors from dusk, throughout the night, until dawn, as this is when the mosquitoes feed.
· Sleep under mosquito netting. Take your own net in case supplied ones have holes in them and, if possible, in an air-conditioned room with screens on the windows.
Malaria is both preventable and curable.
Book in at The Travel Clinic Ltd for an in-depth consultation to see which vaccines you require, and which malaria tablets will be the most effective in the area to which you are travelling. Careful consulting ensures the correct tablets are chosen for you with a minimum of side-effects.
