Chloroquine

Malaria, while not a problem in most developed countries, often runs rampant in third world or tropical areas of the world. If you are preparing to travel to locations where malaria is present, you will likely need to take some medication with you. However, this medication can come with some adverse side effects. These effects will vary depending on which medication you take.

WHO reported over 300 million people at risk of contracting Malaria in 2015. A malaria map shows the areas where people are at risk all over the world. In areas with high risk, anti-malarial medications are advised, based on Mefloquine, Doxycycline, Atovaquone-Proguanil and primaquine. In others, physical protection against mosquitoes is advised.

If you are travelling to an area where there is a risk of malarial infection, you need to follow the given tips to ensure your safety and well-being. Malaria is a parasitic disease that can lead to deadly consequences if not treated on time. Mosquitoes are the only carriers of this parasitic disease. It is therefore necessary that you take all preventive measures to avoid getting a mosquito bite.

Whilst you definitely want to prevent malaria when travelling, different antimalarial medications are designed for different strains. So the recommended malaria tablets can vary from country to country. Here’s a general guide to help you decide which medication is best.

With so many antimalarials available, it can be hard to make a decision about which is best. The CDC (centre for disease control) publish guidelines about which medications you need, for each destination. But to make things easier for you, we’ve used these guidelines to make an antimalarial map. Just find your country and it’s colour code on the map, to find out which antimalarials will be right for you.

This depends on which country you are travelling to. If you are travelling to a low-risk area, a mosquito net and repellent should be adequate. But in higher risk areas, malaria tablets should be used alongside mosquito avoidance i.e. nets and repellent. Mosquito avoidance also protects you against other mosquito-borne diseases, such as Dengue fever.

Some countries have a low-risk of malaria (see below for list), and therefore you will not need to take antimalarials in these countries. But regardless of this, mosquito avoidance is recommended in all countries where malaria is present.

Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol is unlikely to affect anti-malarial medication. But if you drink excessively, you may affect how the medication or the alcohol is metabolised by the body. This means that you may reduce the effectiveness of the medication, or you may become drunk more quickly.

You may have heard that malaria tablets are less expensive if you buy them in the country you are travelling to. However, malaria tablets are intended to be taken for 1 day to 3 weeks before you travel. So if you wait until you arrive in a country to obtain antimalarials you risk exposure to malaria. In addition, if you are not familiar with a country, it may be harder to distinguish genuine and legitimate malaria tablet providers from others who may try to sell faulty, out-of-date or fake medications.