Malaria - Prevention

Malaria can be prevented in one of two ways. First, a person can avoid being bitten by a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been working to eliminate malaria for more than thirty years. Its approach has been to kill as many of the mosquitoes that cause malaria as possible. For some years, WHO was quite successful in this effort. It used DDT and other pesticides to kill mosquitoes. Unfortunately, mosquitoes have slowly become resistant to many pesticides. It has become more and more difficult to kill mosquitoes with the pesticides now available.

The second method for avoiding malaria is to take drugs that protect against the disease. These drugs kill parasites as soon as they enter the bloodstream. The problem is that antimalarial drugs are expensive. Most people in Africa, Asia, and other areas where malaria is common cannot afford them.

Scientists have long hoped to find a vaccine for malaria. With a vaccine, a person could be protected for a lifetime with one or a few shots. So far, however, researchers have had no success in producing such a vaccine.

People who travel in areas where malaria is common can protect themselves by wearing mosquito repellent. The compound known as DEET is one of the most effective repellents, but it can have harmful side effects, especially in children. It should be used only with caution.

Certain other preventive measures can also be followed, including:

• Staying indoors in well-screened areas between dusk and dawn
• Sleeping inside mosquito nets that have been soaked with mosquito repellent
• Wearing clothes that cover the entire body

People who plan trips to areas in which malaria is endemic should take antimalarial drugs as a preventive against contracting the disease. The drugs usually prescribed are chloroquine or mefloquine. A person starts taking the drugs a few days before leaving on the trip. He or she continues to take the drugs while on the trip and for at least four weeks after they return home.