It is never safe to enter a known malarial area without taking malarial prophylaxis! If you have a good reason why you shouldn't take any of these drugs then you should reconsider your holiday plans.

The side effects of Mefloquine can be unpleasant, including dizziness, tummy upsets and headache. It has also recently received a lot of bad press due to psychiatric side effects in some people. However, the side effects of malaria are even worse, particularly if you are unlucky enough to contract cerebral malaria!

The symptoms of malaria are very subtle and you may well not notice them until it is too late. They also often appear after you have left the malarial area, so you cannot rely on being able to pick up the illness in time.

Malaria is a killer. You must take prophylaxis and you must cover up and use mosquito nets and insect repellent as well, since drug prophylaxis is only 90 percent effective.

You can get malaria many times, so don't assume that you are immune if you have had the disease. People who live in malarial areas get the illness.

If you develop symptoms of malaria and are a long way from medical help, get out of the area and seek medical help immediately. You can carry Fansidar (pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine) in areas where it is still effective. Find out the latest resistance patterns from a travel clinic or your pharmacist. The adult dose is 50/1000 mg to 75/1500 mg as a single dose.

There is a myth that teetotallers are more susceptible to the disease than drinkers. I'm sure that this comes from the old colonial habit of drinking gin and tonic, since tonic water contains quinine. It's a good excuse anyway, but not good enough!