Malaria: Epidemiology and risk to the traveler: Epidemiology and risk to the traveler

Although malaria transmission is declining in many parts of the world, imported malaria remains a big problem in many nonendemic regions, because of high numbers of travelers to endemic areas. The risk of acquiring malaria is highest in travelers to sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Oceania. Those visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) also have a greater chance of getting malaria, compared to other groups of travelers. The pattern of imported malaria and the infecting species observed in any one country is closely related to patterns of travel between that country and endemic areas. The geographic distribution of drug resistance influences the use of appropriate antimalarial drugs and drug-resistance patterns must be taken into account when advising travelers.