Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Malaria, one of the great plagues of the African continent, is not completely unknown to the Western countries. In Spain alone, in 2007, 319 cases were registered, contributing to the total of nearly 12,000 cases in all Europe each year.
In comparison to the 500 million cases worldwide, this number could seem almost insignificant. The mortality rate for malaria in Europe (less than 1%) looses color next to the million deaths caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum in the rest of the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched an alert on the fact that there has been a recent increase in European travelers who return with malaria, coming from countries such as Gambia or Senegal, endemic areas in which one must travel with the proper immunizations.
In 2008, the WHO registered 12 cases of malaria imported by Finnish tourists, another 8 from Danish ones (one of whom died), and 8 from Norway (one of whom died), and another 17 among British travelers. According to the statistics of the National Center for Epidemiology, the principle motive for trips in endemic areas is tourism (51.5%) from when comes this “last minute malaria,” receiving its name from those who prepare their trips at the “last minute.” However, time is not an excuse. There are very powerful medicines that can be purchased just one day ahead of time, and thus, there is no excuse . The preventative treatment does not avoid the disease 100%, but at least it makes it harder to catch.
If the prevention is not taken in time, specialists recommend paying close attention to any symptoms on the trip. The majority of the deaths caused by malaria in Europe are the result of late diagnosis that prevented being able to remedy the disease in time. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 20/05/2009)
