Travellers

Treatment of infected travellers

• Treatment should be initiated as soon as possible after establishing the presence of a malaria infection.
• The specific treatment regimen depends on whether the case is diagnosed as uncomplicated or severe (complicated) malaria (the two types are distinguished by severity of clinical illness and level of parasitaemia). see Signs and Symptoms of malaria
  Riamet^® - also known as Coartem^® - is indicated for treating uncomplicated malaria in infected, non-immune travellers returning home - see Riamet^® dosage schedule.
  Patients diagnosed with severe malaria are at risk of morbidity and death. They should ideally be treated in an intensive care or high-dependency unit. Prompt treatment with intravenous antimalarial drugs is essential.
• Steps must be taken to identify the species of Plasmodium, and the area where the disease was caught, as these factors influence treatment. See Antimalarial guidelines for travellers. and also http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2005/9241580364_chap7.pdf
• Where possible, treatment of malaria should be done in consultation with a specialist physician trained and experienced in malaria.

See also:

• Making sense of the febrile traveller: a differential diagnosis guide.