malaria

Transmission - via mosquitoes.

Disease - a parasitic disease affecting the red blood cells. There are four different strains of the disease. The worst type (falciparum) can cause multiple organ failure including cerebral damage and sometimes death.

Symptoms - headache, diarrhoea, high fever, generally feeling unwell. These can take up to one year to occur for certain strains.

Treatment - anyone exhibiting symptoms who has travelled to a malarial area in the past year should seek medical help. Prompt treatment is essential in order to preserve life.

Prevention - there is a multi-pronged approach as no malaria tablet alone is 100% effective. Find out where the malaria risks are on your trip. Follow the bite avoidance and use an anti-malarial tablet that is appropriate to your area of travel. Completing your course of tablets post-travel is very important, as the parasite can be in the liver up to ten days post-bite. Once it is released into the red blood cells, it could take a further week for any symptoms to begin, so if you have stopped taking your pills, you would be susceptible to full-blown malaria.

Vaccine - none available.