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Recommendations for Travelers Planning to Visit Friends and Relatives in Malaria Risk Countries

On this Page:

• Why You May be at Risk
• Key Steps to Protect Yourself
• Other Health Risks

Why You May be at Risk

If you are a resident of the United States who was born in a malaria risk country, and are planning a return visit to your country of origin, you and your traveling family members may get malaria.

• You may have lost any protective immunity that you may have had in the past.
• Your children born in the U.S. have no immunity at all.
• You could become very sick with malaria now, even if you have had malaria in the past and did not get seriously ill.

Key Steps to Protect Yourself

1. Determine if the country you are visiting has malaria risk. If you are traveling outside of the United States, Canada, or Western Europe, you might be traveling to a country with malaria risk. To find out if malaria occurs in the place you plan to visit:
• Visit CDC's Travelers' Health web site, which has country-specific information including where malaria is found, which antimalarial drugs to take, ways to avoid mosquito bites, and other steps that travelers can take to protect themselves.
• Call CDC's toll-free number (1-877-FYI-TRIP, 1-877-394-8747) and listen to the information about diseases found in that country, including malaria.
2. Visit your family's healthcare provider 4-6 weeks before traveling to your native country. If your personal healthcare provider is not familiar with travel medicine, you may need to visit a travel clinic or a city or county public health department. Such a visit will allow you to get necessary travel information, vaccinations, and antimalarial drug prescriptions (there is no vaccine against malaria).
3. Purchase your antimalarial drug before traveling overseas. Drugs purchased overseas may not be made according to United States standards and may not be completely effective. They may also contain the wrong drug, an incorrect amount of active drug, or be contaminated, which could be dangerous. For more information, visit Counterfeit and Substandard Antimalarial Drugs
4. Take all of your drug as prescribed, before your trip, while you are traveling, and after you return to the United States. If you fail to take the entire prescription, you will not get complete protection.
5. Prevent mosquito bites. Malaria is transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito; these mosquitoes usually bite between dusk and dawn
• If possible, remain indoors in a screened or air-conditioned area during the peak biting period.
• If no screening or air conditioning is available: use a pyrethroid-containing spray in living and sleeping areas during evening and night-time hours; sleep under bed nets, preferably insecticide-treated ones.
• For information on ordering insecticide-treated bed nets: www.travmed.com, phone 1-800-872-8633, fax: 413-584-6656; or www.travelhealthhelp.com, phone 1-888-621-3952
• Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and hats, when you go outdoors.
• Use insect repellent (bug spray) when you go outdoors. Apply insect repellent to skin not covered by clothing. Use insect repellents that contain DEET (diethylmethyltoluamide) for the best protection.
• When using insect repellent with DEET, follow these precautions:
• Read and follow the directions and precautions on the product label.
• Use only when outdoors and wash skin with soap and water after coming indoors.
• Do not breathe in, swallow, or get the repellent into the eyes. (DEET is toxic if swallowed.) If using a spray product, apply DEET to your face by spraying your hands and rubbing the product carefully over the face, avoiding eyes and mouth.
• Do not put repellent on wounds or broken skin.
• Higher concentrations of DEET may have a longer repellent effect; however, concentrations over 50% provide no added protection.
• Timed-release DEET products may have a longer repellent effect than liquid products.
• DEET may be used on adults, children, and infants older than 2 months of age. Protect infants by using a carrier draped with mosquito netting with an elastic edge for a tight fit.
• Children under 10 years old should not apply insect repellent themselves. Do not apply to young children's hands or around their eyes and mouth.
6. However even with all the precautions taken, you may still get malaria.
• Know the signs and symptoms of a possible malaria infection. Malaria symptoms are usually similar to the flu and can include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms may be mild, especially if you have had previous attacks of malaria. However, you should not ignore any symptom, even if mild.
• If you or another traveler become ill, either while you are traveling or after you return to the United.States (for up to 1 year), you should seek immediate medical attention. Malaria may quickly become a serious and difficult-to-treat illness, requiring hospitalization, and can be fatal. If not promptly treated, malaria may cause coma, kidney failure, and death. In the United States, call your healthcare provider or go to your nearest hospital's emergency department. Tell the healthcare provider that you have been in a malaria-risk area.

Other Health Risks

In addition to malaria, you will be exposed to other health risks during your travel. For more information on these risks and how to protect yourself and your family, please visit CDC's Travelers' Health web site.