Objective: To obtain information on imported malaria in Australia.
Design and setting: Patients with malaria diagnosed by microscopy by laboratories in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales between October 1987 and December 1988 were included in this study. The chi 2 test was used to analyse data.
Patients: Blood films, details of prophylactic regimens and clinical history were received from 146 patients.
Main outcome measures: This study was to determine the percentage of patients infected with each malaria species, where they contracted their infections, whether they had taken appropriate prophylactic agents and to determine the relationship between parasitaemia and previous exposure, symptoms and prophylaxis.
Results: One hundred patients (68.5%) had Plasmodium vivax malaria and 33 patients (22.6%) had Plasmodium falciparum malaria, with 3 (2.1%) infected with both of these malaria species. Ten cases (6.8%) were presumptively diagnosed as infections but diagnosis by microscopy was uncertain. Seventy-four per cent of the P. vivax infections and 85% of the P. falciparum infections were contracted in Papua New Guinea. Patients presented with a range of blood parasite concentrations that did not correlate with their symptoms, previous infection with malaria (P greater than 0.25) or the regular taking of prophylactic drugs (P greater than 0.1). Only 41% of the patients took any prophylactic drugs; the figure for temporary visitors to malarious areas was 54%. Only 11.6% of patients were taking the recommended drugs for the malarious areas they visited or were resident in.
Conclusions: Constant monitoring of malarial infections is needed to ensure that appropriate advice is given to the traveller. Our study supports the dogma that malaria should be suspected in all patients who have been to malarious areas, regardless of previous malarious attacks, prophylaxis, treatment or the time which has elapsed since leaving the area.