Do I need malaria pills or not?

Friends of mine have been going to the Gambia (West Africa) on vacation for years and this year I’m going with them. Now they never use malaria tablets, even though they are recommended by the GGD. Now I’m not sure if I should buy those expensive pills or not. What do you think?

Answer:

The advice for The Gambia is to take malaria tablets and it is certainly wise to follow that advice. Malaria is a serious infectious disease (caused by various types of parasites, which are transmitted by mosquitoes). First you get chills, fever and muscle and headache. If the malaria is not treated, more severe symptoms develop and the disease can lead to death.

Malaria tablets do not provide 100 percent protection. That is why you should also protect yourself against mosquitoes with skin-covering clothing, mosquito repellents with 40 percent DEET and a mosquito net impregnated with permethrin or deltamethrin. Also keep doors and windows closed to keep mosquitoes out.

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