QUESTION If a mosquito carrying malaria is biting you, do you get sick the next day? ANSWER No. There is a delay called the incubation period, which usually is between 7 to 30 days (depending on the malarial parasite the anopheles mosquito is carrying). The shorter periods are observed most frequently from P. falciparum and the longer ones with P. malariae. Antimalarial drugs taken … [Read more...]
Malaria Prevention
QUESTION How can I protect myself from being infected with malaria? ANSWER There are many ways to prevent from getting infected with malaria. Some methods are more appropriate if you live in a malarial area, others are more for travellers to malarial areas, who are not staying long term. MALARIA.com has a comprehensive page dedicating to malaria prevention and protection. … [Read more...]
Malaria in Australia and Bali
QUESTION Is Australia, Bali or Tasmania in the malaria affected area? ANSWER While malaria used to be endemic in parts of Australia (not Tasmania—it is too cold), the country was declared to be free of malaria transmission in 1981. However, several hundred cases are reported in Australia every year, mainly brought back by travellers returning from other regions, such as south-east … [Read more...]
Is there malaria in North America?
QUESTION: Are there malaria-infected mosquitoes in North America? ANSWER: North America is usually defined as including Canada, the United States and Mexico. Of these, Mexico has known regions of regular malaria transmission; specifically the regions bordering Guatemala and Belize in the south (Chiapas, Quintana Roo and Tabasco), rural areas in the tropical lowlands slightly further north … [Read more...]
Does malaria spread from a person to another?
QUESTION: Can malaria spread from one person to another? ANSWER: Usually, no. In most cases, the malaria parasite has to first pass from a human host into a mosquito as the mosquito takes a blood meal, and then from the mosquito into another human via the mosquito's saliva. This severely limits the amount of person-to-person transmission that exists. In fact, the only mechanisms for … [Read more...]