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Press Release

For the best malaria protection, know your ABCs

9 January 2007

The best protection against catching malaria is thorough preparation, advises Holiday Which?

A common and life-threatening disease, malaria kills over a million people globally each year. With two million British travellers exploring areas where malaria is rife, 2000 risk returning with the disease and a dozen will die.

Malaria can be caught in over 100 countries worldwide. To avoid becoming a fatal statistic, visit a GP, or travel clinic, to fully understand the risks. Holiday Which? recommends an ABCD of prevention:

> Awareness of the risks, incubation period and symptoms
> Bites should be avoided
> Complete the course of antimalarial drugs
> Diagnosis needs to be prompt

Lorna Cowan, Editor, Holiday Which?, said:

“More and more people are jetting off on long-haul holidays to areas where malaria is rife – it’s vital that you speak to your GP, or a travel clinic, and protect yourself against malaria.”

Follow these Holiday Which? top tips for protection:

> Mosquitoes are most active from dusk till dawn so make sure that’s when you cover up
> For anything that can’t be covered, splash on a repellent that contains Deet
> Don’t use perfumes, scented soaps and deodorants – they can make you tastier to mosquitoes
> Request a screened hotel room and make sure you spray the room thoroughly with a knockdown insecticide
> Plug-in pyrethrum vaporisers add an extra layer of defence, as do mosquito nets
> Both the Health Protection Agency and World Health Organisation advise pregnant women to avoid travelling to areas where they’re at risk from malaria



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