Malaria prevention guidance for travellers
Malaria remains an important issue for UK travellers who are at risk when visiting malaria endemic areas. Read more about how to support travellers at increased risk of severe disease, including pregnant women or young children.
Malaria is a preventable but potentially fatal disease. As a nurse advising travellers, you should Make Every Contact Count (MECC) and use every opportunity to engage. This is especially important for those in vulnerable groups who are likely to return home to visit family in their country of origin. Nurses should familiarise themselves with the most up-to-date guidelines which have been developed for travellers from the UK.
To optimise the consistency of advice, the UKHSA Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP) and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC), recommend that health professionals use one resource for country-specific malaria recommendations.
Those working in England, Wales or Northern Ireland should use the ACMP guidelines as a source of guidance for malaria prevention. As guidance between sites can vary across countries and the World Health Organization, it is best to use the source of information relevant to your country of practice.
Useful resources
- NaTHNaC: Malaria factsheet.
- NaTHNaC: Country-specific pages.
- TRAVAX: Malaria information for Scotland (login required).
- Fitfortravel: NHS Scotland (no login required).
- UKHSA: Malaria imported into the UK: 2021. Research and analysis.
- GOV.UK: Malaria prevention guidelines for travellers from the UK.
- Jane Chiodini's Blog: Jane is a travel health specialist nurse and trains health care professionals across the UK.
Malaria remains an important issue for UK travellers, with failure to take chemoprophylaxis (the use of drugs to prevent disease) associated with the majority of imported cases in those visiting-risk areas. Cases in holidaymakers are small, but associated with greater mortality.
Those of African or Asian ethnicity who are non-UK born and travelling to visit friends and relatives are at increased risk of malaria, as well as other infections. Older travellers are at particular risk of dying from malaria. Those providing advice should engage and discuss future travel plans with these population groups using MECC.
The UKHSA Malaria Reference Laboratory (MRL) provides an email service for health care professionals. Download and complete the UKHSA's Risk assessment form, and email it to the Malaria reference laboratory (MRL) at phe.malproph@nhs.net.
Malaria is a notifiable disease carrying a legal obligation to notify authorities. Visit the GOV.UK website to download the Malaria report form. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most serious infection, can progress to severe and life-threatening illness, including cerebral malaria.
Travellers returning from malaria risk areas should seek urgent medical advice, including a same-day result malaria blood test, for any symptoms (especially fever) during their trip or up to a year following their return home. Treatment guidelines and algorithms for clinicians are available from the British Infection Association.
Further resources
- World Health Organization (WHO): World Malaria Day (25 April).
- WHO: World Malaria Report: An annual comprehensive update on global and regional malaria data and trends.
- UKHSA Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP): Guidelines for malaria prevention in travellers from the UK: 2023.
Imported malaria cases and almost all deaths in the UK resulted from visits to Africa. Emphasis should be placed on engagement with travellers planning to visit Africa and explaining that the malaria situation is a serious risk and requires rigorous personal preventive measures.
Advice for travellers over the winter holiday period
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) group of travellers, who tend to stay for longer periods in endemic areas, are more at risk of contracting malaria than short-term travellers visiting the same location. Once infected, the risk of severe or complicated malaria is higher in some groups. For example, those over 70 years of age, those with co-morbidities or immunosuppression and pregnant women.
Page last updated - 19/03/2024
