Prevention of Malaria in Long-term Travelers

TRAVELER ARRIVALS WORLDwide exceeded 800 million in 2005. Today’s mobile populations and global economies lead to extended stays for many travelers. For long-term travelers visiting malaria-endemic countries, recommendations for prevention have been difficult to standardize due to the diversity of long-term travelers and their itineraries, the variation in quality of and access to medical care, the limited data on malaria incidence in travelers overseas, and the lack of controlled studies on long-term safety and efficacy of antimalarial agents. Further complicating the recommendations are the evolution in the intensity of transmission and resistance patterns of the malaria parasites, the seasonality of transmission, and the wide range of international guidelines and travelers’ beliefs and expectations.