How To Take

One tablet daily with food or a milky drink at about the same time each day.

Start taking the tablets 1-2 days before you enter the malaria area and continue until one week after you leave.

Malarone tablets are not recommended for malaria prophylaxis in persons under 40 kg bodyweight.

Side Effects of Malarone

Side effects with Malarone are less common and severe than other anti-malaria drugs.

Side effects may include: rashes, abdominal pain, headaches, anorexia, nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness, change in sleep pattern, coughing and mouth ulcers.

How Does Malarone Work:

• It contains two medicines, atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride, which both work in different ways to stop infection with the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum).
• Malaria is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, which passes the malaria parasite into the bloodstream.
• Malarone prevents malaria by killing this parasite.
• For people who are already infected with malaria, Malarone also kills these parasites.

Malaria Information

Malaria is a serious tropical disease spread by mosquitoes. If malaria is not diagnosed and treated promptly, it can be fatal.

Malaria risk areas

Malaria is found in more than 100 countries, mainly in tropical regions of the world including:

large areas of Africa and Asia

Central and South America

Haiti and the Dominican Republic

parts of the Middle East

some Pacific islands, such as Papua New Guinea

Malaria is not a problem in the UK. More information about the risk of malaria in specific countries can be found on the Fit for Travel website.

ABCD to preventing Malaria

A - Be Aware When There is a Risk However Small

• Find out if there is a malaria risk in the area you are visiting.
• To check whether you need to take preventative malaria treatment for the countries you are visiting, see the Fit for Travel or the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) websites.
• Aspects of travel may increase the risk e.g. rural travel, rainy season or unscreened accommodation.

B - Keep Mosquito Bites to a Minimum

• Use clothing to protect the skin, particularly between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes feed.
• Use DEET-based insect repellent on exposed areas of skin.
• Sleep under a mosquito net that is impregnated with insecticide.
• Use air conditioning (if available) and plug in vapourisers to protect your room.

C - Use Antimalarials Correctly

• The antimalarial tablets recommended for you will depend not only on effectiveness but also on suitability, side effects, cost and which regime suits you best.
• Tablets must be taken regularly according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Delayed illnesses - the incubation period of benign (mild) malaria may be long (up to a year or more).

D - Report any Feverish Illness Promptly to a Doctor

If you experience any flu-like symptoms after returning you should seek immediate medical attention and tell the doctor about your background and recent travel history. (Particularly within 3 months of return but even up to 1 year and say you have been to a malarious area.)

You may need to take a supply of personal emergency treatment abroad with you if you are going to be remote from medical facilities since treatment should always be started promptly. Discuss this option with a Travel Advisor or other healthcare professional.

Alternatives

There may be alternative anti-malarial tablets that are suitable for your trip.

Always check your destination(s) on http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/ to determine which malaria tablets are suitable for your trip.

For advice on your travel destinations visit Central Travel Clinic.