The clinical features of imported malaria

Fifty-one patients with malaria were admitted to the Coppetts Wood Unit of the Royal Free Hospital in 1991. The majority had taken either no prophylaxis or a suboptimal regimen. This was especially evident among patients from ethnic minorities. The most common clinical feature of malaria is fever, which may present months and occasionally years after exposure which can lead to failure or delay in the diagnosis. Doctors should stress the need for travellers to endemic areas to take prophylaxis as well as mosquito avoidance measures. All patients for whom a diagnosis of malaria is considered should be referred for a same-day diagnostic test, preferably to a centre with appropriate expertise in tropical medicine.