Understanding malaria
How do I know if I’ve caught malaria?
Deciding if you have malaria can be quite difficult as the disease produces symptoms very similar to those caused by other infections - particularly flu.
You should suspect malaria if at least 1 week has elapsed since you first entered a malarious area, and you develop a combination of the following flu-like symptoms:
- fever (often exceeding 40°C)
- chills
- feeling generally unwell
- headache
- muscle ache
- vomiting & diarrhoea
- coughing
If you suspect malaria, you should always seek medical help immediately (at least within 24 hours). If this is not possible, take emergency standby therapy if this has been prescribed for you by your doctor before leaving.
You must also seek immediate medical attention if you develop malarial symptoms within three months (or even a year) of leaving a malarious area. In many cases, travellers do not develop malaria until they return home. If you feel ill, you should always tell your doctor that you have visited a malarious area.
 |
Remember - complications can arise within hours or days of the first symptom, and the most dangerous type of malaria can rapidly progress to life-threatening disease. |
Diagnosis
In order to treat malaria effectively, a diagnosis is needed. Clinical diagnosis is inexpensive to perform, and requires no special equipment or supplies. However, the symptoms of malaria are very similar to those of other illnesses. A diagnosis of malaria based on clinical grounds alone is therefore unreliable, and when possible should be confirmed by laboratory tests.
Microscopic diagnosis
Conventional light microscopy is the established method for the laboratory confirmation of malaria. If malaria is suspected, a finger-prick blood sample is taken and the blood smear is examined through a microscope for the presence of malaria parasites.
Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs)
Malaria rapid diagnostic tests, sometimes called ‘dipsticks’ or malaria rapid diagnostic devices (MRDDs), help to diagnose malaria by detecting malaria parasites in human blood and are an alternative form of diagnosis when high quality microscopy is not available. They are available as a simple dipstick, a cassette (a dipstick in a plastic holder), or in a card format. They are mainly used by healthcare workers when they are a long way from good microscopy services although travellers can also use them if they suspect malaria when entering a malaria risk area.
