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Travellers' malaria

Guest edited by Prof Patricia Schlagenhauf, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Travellers' malaria is an exciting topic. It is a field in flux with evolving options for chemoprophylaxis, self-diagnosis, self-treatment, risk/strategy analyses and surveillance. Ideologies vary and experts differ but debate is needed and can bring change. This series from Malaria Journal is a forum to bring together research papers, reviews, opinion papers and commentaries, and will hopefully stimulate debate.

View all collections published in Malaria Journal.

  1. Parenteral artesunate is recommended as first-line therapy for severe and complicated malaria. Although its efficacy has been proven, long-term safety profile is still under evaluation. Several cases of delaye...

    Authors: Loic Raffray, Marie-Catherine Receveur, Mathilde Beguet, Pierre Lauroua, Thierry Pistone and Denis Malvy
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:398
  2. An increasing proportion of malaria cases diagnosed in UK residents with a history of travel to malaria endemic areas are due to Plasmodium falciparum.

    Authors: Amy Pinsent, Jonathan M Read, Jamie T Griffin, Valerie Smith, Peter W Gething, Azra C Ghani, Geoffrey Pasvol and T Déirdre Hollingsworth
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:298
  3. In the UK, the majority of imported malaria infections occur in the London area among UK residents of African origin who travel to Africa visiting friends and relatives (VFRs). Effective malaria prevention mea...

    Authors: Penny E Neave, Ron H Behrens and Caroline OH Jones
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:287
  4. Each year clusters of imported malaria cases are observed in Dutch wintersun vacationers returning from The Gambia. To gain more insight in the travel health preparation and awareness of these travellers, the ...

    Authors: Perry JJ van Genderen, Paul GH Mulder and David Overbosch
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:74
  5. While great success in malaria control has been achieved in China, imported malaria has become a major challenge in the context of malaria elimination. This retrospective study describes the epidemiological pr...

    Authors: Yaobao Liu, Michelle S Hsiang, Huayun Zhou, Weiming Wang, Yuanyuan Cao, Roly D Gosling, Jun Cao and Qi Gao
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:29
  6. In many non-malarious countries, imported malaria disproportionately affects Africans visiting friends and relatives (VFRs). Most previous research has focused on understanding the knowledge, attitudes and pra...

    Authors: Penny E Neave, Caroline OH Jones and Ron H Behrens
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2014 13:17
  7. The burden of imported malaria is predominantly in travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFR) in sub-Saharan Africa. The failure of this group to use chemoprophylaxis is recognized as the most important r...

    Authors: Ron H Behrens and Neal Alexander
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:461
  8. A case of failure of mefloquine prophylaxis in an oversize traveller, who correctly took the drug. This case seems to be attributed to mefloquine resistance, however it is suggested that mefloquine dosage shou...

    Authors: Federico Gobbi, Andrea Rossanese, Dora Buonfrate, Andrea Angheben, Gianluigi Lunardi and Zeno Bisoffi
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:451
  9. The incidence of transfusion-transmitted malaria is very low in non-endemic countries due to strict donor selection. The optimal strategy to mitigate the risk of transfusion-transmitted malaria in non-endemic ...

    Authors: Emmaline E Brouwer, Jaap J van Hellemond, Perry JJ van Genderen, Ed Slot, Lisette van Lieshout, Leo G Visser and Pieter J Wismans
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:439
  10. Malaria is a potentially lethal illness for which preventive measures are not optimally used among all travellers. Travellers visiting friends and relatives in their country of origin (VFRs) are known to use c...

    Authors: Rosanne W Wieten, Janneke Harting, Pieter M Biemond, Martin P Grobusch and Michèle van Vugt
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:360
  11. Malaria elimination is being pursued in five of seven Central American countries. Military personnel returning from peacekeeping missions in sub-Saharan Africa could import chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falcip...

    Authors: Patricia C Juliao, Silvia Sosa, Luis D Gonzalez, Norma Padilla, Lucia Ortiz, Ira Goldman, Venkatachalam Udhayakumar and Kim A Lindblade
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:344
  12. Accurate identification of Plasmodium infections in non-endemic countries is of critical importance with regard to the administration of a targeted therapy having a positive impact on patient health and managemen...

    Authors: Adriana Calderaro, Giovanna Piccolo, Chiara Gorrini, Sabina Rossi, Sara Montecchini, Maria Loretana Dell’Anna, Flora De Conto, Maria Cristina Medici, Carlo Chezzi and Maria Cristina Arcangeletti
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:321
  13. Hyposplenism, due to splenectomy, inherited red blood cell disorders or acquired conditions such as celiac disease, has an important impact on the severity of malaria, especially in non-immune patients. Conver...

    Authors: Benjamin Hommel, Alexandre Galloula, Anne Simon and Pierre Buffet
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:271
  14. There is a lack of information regarding the epidemiology of malaria among travellers from non-malaria endemic countries to Sahelian areas. The literature provides general statistics about imported malaria in ...

    Authors: Stéphanie Schrot-Sanyan, Sylvie Gaidot-Pagnier, Ahmed Abou-Bacar, Sodiomon Bienvenu Sirima and Ermanno Candolfi
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:270
  15. Air travel has expanded at an unprecedented rate and continues to do so. Its effects have been seen on malaria in rates of imported cases, local outbreaks in non-endemic areas and the global spread of drug res...

    Authors: Zhuojie Huang and Andrew J Tatem
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:269
  16. Although chemoprophylaxis remains an important strategy for preventing malaria in travellers, its effectiveness may be compromised by lack of adherence. Inappropriate use of chemoprophylaxis is likely to incre...

    Authors: Klaske Vliegenthart-Jongbloed, Mariana de Mendonça Melo, Marlies E van Wolfswinkel, Rob Koelewijn, Jaap J van Hellemond and Perry JJ van Genderen
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:265
  17. Approximately 125 million travellers visit malaria-endemic countries annually and about 10,000 cases of malaria are reported after returning home. Due to the fact that malaria is insect vector transmitted, the...

    Authors: Gaëtan Texier, Vanessa Machault, Meili Barragti, Jean-Paul Boutin and Christophe Rogier
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:87
  18. Gametocytes are the sexual stage of Plasmodium parasites. The determinants of gametocyte carriage have been studied extensively in endemic areas, but have rarely been explored in travellers with malaria. The inci...

    Authors: Catherine H Roberts, Margaret Armstrong, Ewa Zatyka, Samuel Boadi, Simon Warren, Peter L Chiodini, Colin J Sutherland and Tom Doherty
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2013 12:31
  19. Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria (RDTs) allow accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment. Validation of their usefulness in travellers with fever was needed. The safety of a strategy to diagnose falciparum mala...

    Authors: Isabelle Anne Rossi, Valérie D’Acremont, Guy Prod’Hom and Blaise Genton
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:377
  20. When selecting blood donors in transfusion centres, one important problem is to identify, during screening, individuals with infectious diseases that can be transmitted by blood, such as malaria, especially wh...

    Authors: Sergio Batista-dos-Santos, Milene Raiol, Sidney Santos, Maristela G Cunha and Ândrea Ribeiro-dos-Santos
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:345
  21. In this position paper, the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Study Group on Clinical Parasitology, summarizes main issues regarding the management of imported malaria cases. ...

    Authors: Helena H Askling, Fabrice Bruneel, Gerd Burchard, Francesco Castelli, Peter L Chiodini, Martin P Grobusch, Rogelio Lopez-Vélez, Margaret Paul, Eskild Petersen, Corneliu Popescu, Michael Ramharter and Patricia Schlagenhauf
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:328
  22. Submicroscopic malaria (SMM) can be defined as low-density infections of Plasmodium that are unlikely to be detected by conventional microscopy. Such submicroscopic infections only occasionally cause acute diseas...

    Authors: Germán Ramírez-Olivencia, José Miguel Rubio, Pablo Rivas, Mercedes Subirats, María Dolores Herrero, Mar Lago and Sabino Puente
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:324
  23. In Plasmodium falciparum infection, peripheral parasite counts do not always correlate well with the sequestered parasite burden. As erythrocytes parasitized with mature trophozoites and schizonts have a high ten...

    Authors: Marlies E van Wolfswinkel, Mariana de Mendonça Melo, Klaske Vliegenthart-Jongbloed, Rob Koelewijn, Jaap J van Hellemond and Perry J van Genderen
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:301
  24. Severe falciparum malaria is associated with considerable rates of mortality, despite the administration of appropriate anti-malarial treatment. Since overall survival is associated with total parasite biomass...

    Authors: Lorenz Auer-Hackenberg, Thomas Staudinger, Andja Bojic, Gottfried Locker, Gerda C Leitner, Wolfgang Graninger, Stefan Winkler, Michael Ramharter and Nina Worel
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:158
  25. As HIV becomes a chronic infection, an increasing number of HIV-infected patients are travelling to malaria-endemic areas. Association of malaria with HIV/AIDS can be clinically severe. Severe falciparum malar...

    Authors: Silvia García-Bujalance, Carolina Navarro-San Francisco, José M Rubio, José R Arribas and Avelino Gutierrez
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:136
  26. Intravenous (IV) artesunate is the treatment of choice for severe malaria. In Europe, however, no GMP-manufactured product is available and treatment data in European travellers are scarce. Fortunately, artesu...

    Authors: Annemarie R Kreeftmeijer-Vegter, Perry J van Genderen, Leo G Visser, Wouter FW Bierman, Jan Clerinx, Cees KW van Veldhuizen and Peter J de Vries
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:102
  27. To document the status of imported malaria infections and estimate the costs of treating of patients hospitalized with the diagnosis of imported malaria in the Slovak Republic during 2003 to 2008.

    Authors: Viera Svihrova, Maria Szilagyiova, Elena Novakova, Jan Svihra and Henrieta Hudeckova
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2012 11:1
  28. Increasing international travel and migration is producing changes in trends in infectious diseases, especially in children from many European cities. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiolo...

    Authors: Mireia Garcia-Villarrubia, Juan-Pablo Millet, Patricia Garcia de Olalla, Joaquim Gascón, Victoria Fumadó, Jordi Gómez i Prat, Begoña Treviño, María-Jesús Pinazo, Juan Cabezos, José Muñoz, Francesc Zarzuela and Joan A Caylà
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2011 10:347
  29. Numbers of travellers visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) from Europe to malaria endemic countries are increasing and include long-term and second generation immigrants, who represent the major burden of mal...

    Authors: Guido Calleri, Ron H Behrens, Matthias L Schmid, Federico Gobbi, Martin P Grobusch, Francesco Castelli, Joaquim Gascon, Zeno Bisoffi, Tomas Jelinek and Pietro Caramello
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2011 10:137
  30. In a number of malaria endemic regions, tourists and travellers face a declining risk of travel associated malaria, in part due to successful malaria control. Many millions of visitors to these regions are rec...

    Authors: Eduardo Massad, Ben C Behrens, Francisco AB Coutinho and Ronald H Behrens
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2011 10:130
  31. Travellers' malaria is an exciting topic. It is a field in flux with evolving options for chemoprophylaxis, self-diagnosis, self-treatment, risk/strategy analyses and surveillance. Ideologies vary and experts ...

    Authors: Patricia Schlagenhauf and Marcel Hommel
    Citation: Malaria Journal 2011 10:129