The symptoms are similar to influenza with fever, headache and joint pain. Untreated malaria can give rise to a number of serious complications.
The risk of getting malaria is highest when living in or travelling to tropical an subtropical climates, however, the disease is more common in Africa.
There is no vaccination against malaria and the best protection against the illness is to avoid mosquito bites. The disease can be prevented by medical treatment, although this is not 100% effective.
The disease can be treated with a number of anti-malarial drugs which must be prescribed by a medical practitioner. Recovery from malaria does not prevent you from being infected again.
Self treatment with anti-malarial drug is recommended for people who are staying for longer periods of time in areas where malaria is common and where medical assistance is unavailable. Your choice of drug depends on a number circumstances and must therefore be discussed with a specialist doctor before departure.
