A third of gap year travellers fail to take malaria medication

Thirty-three per cent of UK gap-year students fail to take appropriate malaria medication, research has shown.

A staggering 41 per cent of travellers to malarial countries do not even use mosquito nets, according to a study by Gapyear.com.

Malaria is carried by a parasite that lives in mosquitoes and is passed on in a mosquito bite.

The rainy season is the worst time for malaria as the wet provides the perfect breeding conditions for mosquitoes, which carry the disease.

According to the research, ten per cent of gap year travellers did not use protection as simple as insect repellent.

Statistics collected by a malaria medical company show there has been a 190 per cent increase in visits to countries with malaria among British travellers in the last decade.

Gap year travellers are most complacent about their health, said one parent.

Gapyear.com is currently running a campaign to highlight the dangers of malaria.

Insect repellent, long-sleeved clothing and sleeping under a mosquito net are some of the basic precautions a traveller can take as well as prescribed anti-malarials.

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