QUESTION:
Is malaria contagious?
ANSWER:
No, malaria isn’t directly contagious from one person to another. It has to be transmitted by the bite of a mosquito, which means that if someone near you has malaria, those mosquitoes that bite him are carrying the disease! So, the best way to avoid getting infected is to make sure neither you nor your brother are bitten by mosquitoes. The best way to prevent biting is by wearing long sleeved shirts and long trousers, especially during dusk, dawn and at night, when mosquitoes are most active. Similarly, you should try to sleep under an insecticide-treated bednet. These have been proven to reduce biting from mosquitoes, and therefore the transmission of malaria.
A friend of mine has malaria, I want know how to protect myself.
It’s definitely important to know of ways to prevent malaria. First of all, you should know that malaria is not transmitted directly between people – it is transmitted by mosquitoes, who bite infected people, pick up the malaria parasite, and then pass it on to another person when they bite again. There is a lot of information on our website about how to protect yourself from malaria, by stopping mosquitoes fom biting you as well as other methods. You can access an overview of these methods on our website using this link:
I am currently living in Kathmandu, Nepal. I have visited Chitwan (10/20-10/23), Pokhara (10/23-10/26), and Lumbini (11/15-11/17). I have had a dry cough for about a week. It’s not constant. I have had nasal congestion/runny nose/sneezing even longer (maybe about 2 weeks). Yesterday afternoon and into this morning I had a fever and felt tired and felt really full like I might have to throw up to make it go away. I didn’t end up throwing up and after resting all day, I feel okay. I am worried about malaria because I have gotten it in the past while in Thailand (2006). A lot of these symptoms sounds familiar and I know I have been bit by mosquitoes, especially in Lumbini. If the fever pops up again, I’m going to go see a doctor. In the meantime, what do you recommend as far as meds?
A dry cough is and congestion is more indicative of a respiratory or sinus infection than of malaria. While you wait to see a doctor, you should try to control your fever, for example with over-the-counter painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol (called acetaminophen in some places), and make sure to stay hydrated. If there is a chance you might have malaria, you must alert your doctor to your past travel history (i.e. which places have you been that could have transmission of malaria) and make sure his clinic is equipped to perform a blood test for diagnosis. It is important to be diagnosed accurately before taking treatment, as different types of malaria require different treatment, or indeed, if you don’t actually have malaria, the true cause of your illness might be left unaddressed.