title: Malaria prophylaxis in travellers to tropical Africa.
abstract: This study investigated travellers to tropical Africa with regard to prophylactic treatment of malaria. A total of 5703 travellers completed a questionnaire on their flights back to the Federal Republic of Germany; 4116 passengers (73.7%) had visited East Africa, while 808 (14.5%) had been to West Africa. The results indicate that 90.2% took a regular chemoprophylaxis against malaria. Nevertheless, 8.1% of the travellers used no antimalarials and in 9.3% chemoprophylaxis was inadequate due to inappropriate advice; for example, 7.5% still took pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine as prophylactic. Mefloquine was correctly taken by 38.9% of the travellers in East Africa; 12.6% used it in West Africa where it is not necessary. Antimosquito measures have a high priority for travellers to tropical Africa and dissemination of this fact must be improved since only 72.6% followed through on such advice.
authors.affiliation: II. Medizinische Klinik, Universitätsklinikum Rudolf Virchow, Freie Universität Berlin.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weinke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schultes
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hopfenmüller
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Janitschke
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015767:Mefloquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000187:drug effects; D002727:Proguanil / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011739:Pyrimethamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013413:Sulfadoxine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014195:Travel
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D013413:Sulfadoxine; D002738:Chloroquine; D002727:Proguanil; D015767:Mefloquine; D011739:Pyrimethamine