Malaria
What is malaria?
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease. This means the parasite that causes malaria is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, and it only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to infect a human.
Only female marsh mosquitos (Anopheles) are able to transmit malaria, and it typically affects exclusively tropical areas including (but not limited to):
Central America
Parts of Northern and Central Africa
Large areas in Asia
Pacific Islands
What are the symptoms of malaria?
Malaria causes symptoms like:
a high temperature, sweats and chills
headaches and feeling confused
feeling very tired and sleepy (especially in children)
feeling and being sick, tummy pain and diarrhoea
loss of appetite
muscle pains
yellow whites of the eyes or skin (jaundice), although this may be less noticeable on brown or black skin
a sore throat, cough and difficulty breathing
Malaria can be fatal. If you are travelling to an endemic area, we may recommend anti-malarial tablets to prevent infection.
Regardless of where you travel to, we usually recommend bite avoidance and bite prevention. Other illnesses like Dengue can be prevented this way. Methods include:
Mosquito nets
Long-sleeved clothing
Insect repellent and/or DEET
How do I know if I need anti-malarials?
That’s easy, you can either:
Check the NaTHNaC website: this is a fantastic resource which clearly defined which travel health treatments you may require based on your destination. Simply follow the link here - https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/countries
Book your appointment with us, and we’ll discuss it anyway. During each appointment the pharmacist always covers potential health risks for each area you visit.
How much do anti-malaria tablets cost?
There are 3 different types of anti-malaria tablets we offer:
Atorvaquone/Proguanil Hydrochloride 250mg/100mg (AKA Malarone)
Doxycycline 100mg
Mefloquine 250mg (AKA Lariam)
Which type of tablet you receive will depend on where you are visiting, the duration of your stay and your medical history.
Our service is standard priced at £40 per week of anti-malarial treatment, regardless of which type you receive. This also covers the cost of the prescription. (Consultation price is included in the pre-paid deposit).
