Malaria can be prevented well when the precautions fit the trip. The best way to arrange this at Reisemedizin Tirol in Wörgl is to book an appointment, because we then have more time for you. If your departure is close or you cannot wait, come with an Akutticket on any day the practice is open – we will find a solution. Advice, prescription and, where needed, vaccinations can often happen at the same visit. We have the common travel vaccines in stock practically all the time. We cannot promise it: when demand is very high or there is a supply shortage, a single vaccine can be temporarily unavailable.
What is malaria and how is it transmitted?
Malaria is an infectious disease found in many tropical and subtropical regions. It is caused by parasites that are passed on through the bite of certain mosquitoes (Anopheles). These mosquitoes bite mainly at dusk and during the night. In everyday life, malaria is not passed from person to person.
The illness usually begins with fever, headache and chills, and at first often resembles the flu. Left untreated, it can quickly become life-threatening. Recognised early, it can be treated well.
How do I protect myself against malaria?
Prevention consists of several building blocks that complement each other. No single measure protects completely.
- Mosquito bite avoidance: an effective insect repellent on uncovered skin, long clothing in the evening and at night, sleeping under a mosquito net (ideally an impregnated one) or in rooms with air conditioning or insect screens.
- Preventive tablets (chemoprophylaxis): where it is indicated, you take a medicine regularly. There are several medicines, each with its own schedule and tolerability.
- Standby emergency treatment: for some trips it makes sense to carry a medicine for emergency self-treatment, in case you develop a fever and cannot reach medical help quickly. You should still be seen by a doctor afterwards.
Which building blocks are right for you depends on the destination, the season, the length of the trip, your style of travel and on you personally. We decide this together in the travel health consultation.
Is there a malaria vaccination for travellers?
Many people search for a “malaria vaccination” before their trip. Prevention for travellers rests on consistent mosquito protection and, where indicated, on tablets. We discuss what applies to your trip in the consultation. There we also clarify which travel vaccinations against other diseases make sense.
Malaria tablets: prescription, start and duration
Medicines for malaria prophylaxis are available on prescription only. We issue the prescription at the practice.
You start taking the tablets before you enter the malaria area, continue during your stay and stop only some time after you have left. How long exactly depends on the medicine and is set out in your personal schedule. What matters is taking the tablets regularly and to the end, as prescribed.
We recommend coming 4–6 weeks before departure. As a general rule, a consultation is still worthwhile even shortly before you leave.
Fever during or after the trip: what should I do?
This is the most important rule regarding malaria: a fever during or after a stay in a malaria area should be assessed by a doctor as soon as possible – even if you have been taking tablets, and even months after your return.
Do not wait. If you develop a fever after a stay in a malaria area, go straight to a hospital’s emergency department and make it clear that you have been in a malaria area. If your life is in danger, call the emergency number 144.
In this case, our practice is not the right place to go: we cannot test for malaria ourselves. It takes about a day for us to receive laboratory results, and with malaria a day can be too late.
Malaria prophylaxis for children, in pregnancy and with pre-existing conditions
For children, pregnant women and people with pre-existing conditions or regular medication, malaria can be more dangerous, and not every medicine is suitable for every person. Here we advise you individually.
What belongs in the travel pharmacy?
Together with you, we put together a personal travel pharmacy and issue the prescriptions you need. Depending on the trip, this includes, for example, fever and pain relief, remedies for diarrhoea and nausea, wound care supplies, and sun and insect protection.
What does malaria prophylaxis cost?
The travel medicine consultation is generally a private service that is not covered by statutory health insurance. Some supplementary insurers reimburse the costs on request.
If you have the recommended vaccinations carried out at our practice, the consultation is free of charge. A consultation without vaccination costs €40 per person. You collect the medicines from a pharmacy with our prescription and pay for them there.
How to come to us
There are two routes. We recommend booking an appointment online: that way we can take more time for you. If time is short before your departure, draw an Akutticket and walk in on a day the practice is open – we will find a solution. You can see when the practice is open under opening hours. Written questions reach us via Medflex. You will find us at Bahnhofstraße 54 in Wörgl, in the Tiroler Unterland (how to get there).