Medical help should be sought immediately if malaria is suspected. Young children are also at special risk if they contract malaria as they can become seriously ill. If untreated, malaria can lead to severe complications such as anaemia and jaundice. The diagnosis of malaria should be an early and serious consideration for any patient with fever who has travelled to or originates from a malaria area. The diagnosis must be comfirmed by means of blood samples taken often over a 72 hour period before malaria can be excluded.
Malaria is a notifiable disease.
The doctor must notify the local Health Authority, preferably on a notification form, otherwise telephonically. In spite of many efforts to eradicate malaria, the situation is getting worse in many areas. One of the reasons for this is that the prevention and treatment of malaria is becoming more difficult because of the increasing and widespread resistance of the parasites to antimalarial drugs.