Advice to travellers going to areas where there is malaria
Be aware
Make sure you know about the risks of malaria in the country
you are travelling to. For example, you may be visiting a city or holiday resort,
but is it likely that you may travel to remote, rural areas where the risks
can be higher?
You must try to protect yourself against mosquito bites
Sleep in rooms that are properly screened - with close
fitting gauze over windows and doors, no holes in the gauze, and no unscreened
entry points.
Spray the room with a knockdown insecticide before evening
to kill any mosquitoes that may have entered the room during the day.
When sleeping outdoors or in an unscreened room, use
mosquito nets around the bed at night, checking that there are no holes in
the net. The net should be impregnated with pyrethroids — for example,
permethrin 0.2 g/m2 of material every six months — and the
net should be long enough to fall to the floor all round the bed or be tucked
under the mattress.
Vaporise synthetic pyrethroids overnight, using an electrically
heated mat. Alternatively, mosquito coils (slow burning mixture of repellent
and insecticide) may be burned. Electronic buzzers are sometimes marketed
as repellents, but do not work.
Wear long sleeved clothing, long trousers, and socks
out of doors after sunset. Light colours are less attractive to mosquitoes.
Apply insect repellents containing over 10% DEET to
exposed skin. Do not, however, exceed the manufacturer’s recommendations,
particularly with small children. Impregnating cotton garments with 30 ml
of DEET in 250 ml of water makes them repellent. Refined lemon eucalyptus
oil on skin also repels mosquitoes.
If you are prescribed protective drugs
It is essential that you take your medication as directed
by you doctor; most deaths occur in those who take drugs irregularly or not
at all.
Start medication at least a week before going abroad.
With certain drugs, your doctor may have advised you to start two and a half
weeks before travelling. This is because if unpleasant side effects occur,
there will be time to switch to an alternative before travelling.
Continue medication while in the malarious area and
for four weeks after leaving it. Remember, a drug that is not taken offers
no protection and to take antimalarial drugs irregularly is a dangerous gamble.
Antimalarial drugs can cause side effects - if these
occur whilst you are travelling and are serious, seek medical help quickly
and stop using the drug.
Always seek medical attention immediately if you get a fever
or flu-like symptoms
Seekimmediate
medical attention if you get the following flu-like symptoms (which may
be mild) after being in a malarious area for at
least one week, and within three months (or even a year) of leaving the area:
Fever
Chills
Severe headache
Muscle aches
Sometimes vomiting, diarrhoea and coughing
Remember, you can sometimes acquire malaria even if you have
used protective drugs
If you have been prescribed standby emergency treatment
and cannot get immediate medical attention, take the pills as directed by your
doctor and according to the package insert and patient leaflet that accompany
the medication.
Remember, malaria can kill if treatment is delayed
Standby treatment is a first aid measure, and not an alternative
to proper medical attention, which you should seek as quickly as possible.