The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is reminding UK travellers over the winter to take anti-malarials when visiting countries where malaria is prevalent. Although the majority of malaria cases are diagnosed in the summer, almost 20% of malaria cases in travellers arriving in the UK are diagnosed in December and January. In 2011 so far, there have been 348 cases and two deaths reported in travellers returning from Nigeria and 170 cases in those returning from Ghana. Although these numbers are lower compared to 2010, malaria is a preventable illness and it is still clear that travellers are not protecting themselves against malaria when travelling to these high risk areas.

The Agency’s report, ‘Travellers preparing for winter sun holidays should think about malaria’ will be published on its website later in the day.