Just one bite from an infected mosquito may be all it takes to become infected and sick with malaria.
Those bitten by a malaria-infected mosquito and become sick with malaria may experience seizures, mental confusion, kidney failure, coma and possibly death.
Let me repeat… malaria can be fatal.
Estimates indicate that over 10,000 worldwide travelers fall ill with malaria after returning home from malaria-endemic areas. The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates that approximately 40% of the global population is at risk for getting malaria and that there are 300-500 million new cases of malaria each year, resulting in 1 million deaths.
Although many travellers believe that they have been vaccinated for malaria — there is NO vaccine for malaria.
When Ed and I travel to malarial regions of the world, we typically opt to use Malarone, which is approved for the treatment and prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in adults and children weighing at least 25 lbs.
We recommend that you contact your doctor to find the treatment that is right for you and your travels to areas of the world where you might be at risk of becoming infected with malaria.
To find out more about malaria please visit the CDC’s malaria page which includes an interactive malaria risk map providing information on malaria risk throughout the world. Users can search or browse countries, cities, and place names and get information about the risk of malaria in that particular location and see recommended malaria prevention medicines for that area.
Leave a Reply