Understanding malaria

Is there really a risk from malaria?

Local people in malarious areas become partly immune to the disease. However, immunity does not develop in those living outside these areas. Worryingly, over 125 million vulnerable Western travellers visit malarious areas each year, and as many as 30,000 of them will catch malaria because they are non-immune and are often victims of late or wrong malaria diagnosis when returning home (International Travel and Health 2005). Any traveller who gets a fever within 3 months of leaving a malaria risk area should seek medical advice immediately.

There are several reasons why Western travellers catch the disease. They may be unaware of the risks involved and fail to take preventive precautions such as using insect repellants (containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide), IR3535^® (3-[N-acetyl-N-butyl]-aminopropionic acid ethyl ester) or Bayrepel^® (1-piperidinecarboxylic acid, 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-, 1-methylpropylester), and insecticide-treated bed nets; they may fail to take medication, or the medication they have been given is ineffective or has not been taken for long enough because of the unpleasant side effects.