Plasmodium species
  The Bug | Disease | Prevention | Links     

Prevention


Personal prevention methods

Risk Awareness

Seek expert advice before you travel, so you are informed about the risk of malaria as well as any other health risks in the areas you will be visiting.

Recognition of Symptoms

Seek medical attention urgently if you develop non-specific flu-like symptoms (especially fever) during or within 12 months after travel. Remember that malignant malaria is potentially fatal, and requires immediate medical attention.

Chemoprophylaxis

Chemoprophylaxis is treatment given as a precaution to prevent colonization of red blood cells if the person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Chemoprophylaxis is highly recommended for travelers to high risk areas, but due to increasing chemical resistance it may not be 100% effective. Drugs used for chemoprophylaxis include chloroquine, proguanil, mefloquine, and doxycycline. Each has a specific dosage and schedule which may begin up to a week before travel and last up to a month after travel. Anti-malarial drugs have adverse side effects, so it is important to seek expert consultation to determine what form of chemoprophylaxis is appropriate.

Mosquito bite prevention

For tips on how to avoid mosquito bites, refer to our FAQ.


Vaccines

There is currently no vaccine for the treatment of malaria.



Large-scale prevention methods

The World Health Organization (WHO) began a worldwide campaign to eradicate malaria in 1955, which lasted until the mid 1970’s. The strategies for large-scale prevention were mosquito control and drug treatment.

Control of the adult mosquito population focused on the use of insecticides, such as DDT. Paul Muller discovered the effectiveness of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane as an insecticide in 1939, for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, it was discovered that DDT is toxic in fish, where it accumulates in fatty tissues. The chemical travels up the food chain, accumulating in birds and mammals. For this reason, use of DDT has been banned in many parts of the world.

Elimination of potential mosquito breeding grounds was accomplished by draining of marshes, swamps, and fields. Drastic attempts to reduce mosquito breeding grounds included spreading large amounts on oil on swamps to prevent oxygen from reaching mosquito larvae.

Reducing the mosquito population, in combination with chloroquinine drug treatment of malaria patients and contacts, succeeded in eliminating malaria from Europe, USA, and Australia. Malaria was largely reduced in Asia, and still a large problem in Latin American and Africa. In the parts of the world where malaria still existed, control and containment became the strategy.

This website has been made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Canada Inc.
© Copyright 1999-2007 Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. All rights reserved.