What should you know about malaria?

Parasites enter the bloodstream after the bite of an infected mosquito and multiply inside red blood cells. Illness may begin with fever, chills, sweating, headache, tiredness, nausea or muscle aches. Symptoms can come and go, and early malaria may resemble a common infection. A recent stay in a malaria area matters even if the journey was months ago, because some infections can appear later. Malaria is not spread by ordinary day-to-day contact. A person with fever after travel needs assessment because the condition can worsen quickly without treatment.

Tell a healthcare professional about every recent journey, dates of travel, mosquito bites, prevention medicines and the timing of symptoms. Diagnosis commonly involves a Blood Test, sometimes repeated when an early sample does not settle the question. Treatment uses prescription antimalarial medicine selected for the parasite, location of exposure, health history and other medicines. For future travel, discuss Malaria Prophylaxis and a Travel Health Consultation before departure, and use repellent, long clothing, screened rooms or bed nets where advised.

Seek urgent medical care for fever during or after travel to a malaria area, especially with confusion, breathing difficulty, repeated vomiting, fainting, seizures, extreme weakness or yellowing of the skin. Do not wait for a fever pattern to become clear and do not rely on previous prevention medicine to exclude malaria. Tell emergency staff about travel immediately so testing and treatment can be prioritised.

Could my travel history fit malaria or another travel infection? Which Blood Test is needed, and could it need repeating? Which treatment is suitable with my medicines? What prevention plan and mosquito precautions should I use on my next trip?