Some of my friends once had spirited debate as to properly prevent malaria before they departed for overseas travel. It is interesting to know that malaria is transmitted by the bite of female Anopheline mosquitoes (how do we tell apart male and female mosquitoes may require an insect biologist's expertise, I guess) And malaria-transmitting mosquitoes feed at night; therefore, it makes sense to limit exposure between dusk and dawn. Effective preventive measures are:
- Using mosquito nets
- Covering skin with clothing
- Applying insect repellent
Travelers to Africa, South America, Indian subcontinent that consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh should take either mefloquine, or atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), or doxycycline.
Travelers to most parts of China and southeast Asia should know that they may not have to take prophylactic medicines if they visit only urban areas. It is also important to know that resistant strains of Plasmodicum falciparum are prevalent in this part of the world. Therefore, only doxycycline or Malarone are recommended.
If you wish to know more details of malaria as reported by country, I recommend CDC (Center for Disease Control) website: http://www.cdc.gov/.
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