The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7405 p711
17 June 2006

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Increased awareness of malaria prevention needed, says HPA

Increased awareness about the need for malaria prophylaxis among travellers to malaria endemic regions — particularly those visiting friends or relatives — is needed following the deaths of 11 people in 2005, says the Health Protection Agency.

The majority of those who died took either inappropriate or no preventive drugs, says the HPA. A total of 1,754 cases of imported malaria were reported in UK travellers in 2005 and, among those whose reason for travel was known, 77 per cent were visiting friends and relatives abroad. “It is particularly important that access to health professionals and to preventive advice is improved for those travelling for this purpose,” commented Peter Chiodini, a malaria expert at the HPA.

Professor Chiodini urged travellers to plan ahead by seeking pre-travel medical advice on appropriate preventive drugs for their destination and to follow other protective measures, such as applying insect repellent, wearing cover-up clothing and sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net.