×
A. Malaria is a serious infection caused by a parasite called plasmodium. The parasite lives in mosquitoes. If you are bitten by a mosquito that carries the parasite, you can become infected with malaria.
A. Yes.
Pregnant women are more likely to get malaria. This is because your immunity to any infection is lower when you are pregnant.
A. If you are pregnant, you are more likely to experience a severe form of malaria and to develop severe complications from the infection.
Once you have recovered, you are more likely to be anaemic during pregnancy than if you hadn’t had malaria.
A. You are at risk of having a miscarriage, a stillbirth or premature labour if you get malaria while pregnant. Your baby may not grow properly and may have a low birth weight. Prompt and effective antimalarial treatment can reduce the risks. If you have malaria at or near the time of birth, your baby could catch it from the parasites passing through the placenta, although this is unlikely.
A. The antimalarial drug usually recommended for pregnant women is mefloquine. It appears to be safe to take in pregnancy. However, if you are in in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy or if you are breastfeeding, you should talk to a specialist with experience in managing malaria before taking any antimalarial drugs.
If you have epilepsy, depression or a history of mental illness, you will not be able to take mefloquine. If this is the case, ask your doctor about other options.
Doxycycline and primaquine are not recommended during pregnancy as they may harm your unborn baby.
A. The most common side effects include nausea and/or diarrhoea. Taking the tablets with meals may help.
Around 1 in 20 people taking mefloquine develop headaches or have problems with sleep. Always read the information sheet that comes with the medication you are taking for a list of side effects and warnings.
A. You may have malaria if you have a high temperature or flu-like symptoms such as headaches and muscle pains. You might also have a cough and feel more tired than usual. You might feel sick, vomit and have diarrhoea.
Symptoms may take a week or more to develop after you have been bitten. Occasionally, it takes a year for symptoms to develop.
With severe malaria, symptoms will get worse. Complications can affect your liver, lungs and brain. You may notice that you are getting more breathless and you are jaundiced (seen as yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes). You will usually feel very weak and tired owing to severe anaemia.
If you think you might have malaria, you should see a doctor immediately.
A. The doctor will check whether you have the parasites in your blood. A smear of your blood is examined under a microscope. If you have three negative malaria smears 12–24 hours apart, you don’t have malaria.
A. If you are pregnant, you are likely to be admitted to hospital even if you are well. You will be cared for by a medical team with infectious disease, obstetric and neonatal specialist care on hand. If you develop severe complications, you are likely to need care in an intensive care unit.
Your treatment will depend on how severe the infection is. You will be given regular paracetamol to treat your fever. Paracetamol is safe to take in pregnancy. Depending on the type of parasite and the severity of your symptoms, you may be given one or a combination of antimalarial medicines. The treatment may need to be given through a drip into a vein. If you become severely anaemic, you may be offered a blood transfusion.
You may find that you feel very weak and tired for several weeks afterwards.
A. You should be seen at a hospital antenatal clinic and have your baby at a unit with neonatal facilities.
A. It is possible.
If your symptoms and/or fever occur again, you should go to your doctor straightaway.
A. If you have the infection at or near the time of birth, there is a small chance that your baby will also get malaria, although this is unlikely. Babies with malaria may have fever, irritability and feeding difficulties.
If you have had malaria during pregnancy, your baby will have a blood test for malaria at birth and then weekly for the first 28 days of his or her life.
A. The key points are as follows:
A fever or flu-like illness may be malaria. Go to your docto