Malaria in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is another country in Africa that has a malaria risk. 90% of Africa has a malaria risk so it goes without saying that you will most likely need to take malaria tablets when travelling to Africa. Zimbabwe is a land locked country and has a very moist environment, which is advantageous to mosquitoes and facilitates their growth. Therefore, there is a high level of transmission of malaria in the country because there are high numbers of mosquitoes and subsequently malaria parasites.

Plasmodium falciparum is the dominant parasite in this area and the most dangerous. It is also Chloroquine resistant so that anti-malarial will not be effective at protecting you from malaria in Zimbabwe. Mefloquine, Malarone or Doxycycline will all offer protection against malaria in the country and your doctor will prescribe you one of these malaria tablets. It is important that you finish the entire course of malaria tablets to ensure maximum protection. You will need to take malaria tablets for any area you visit even though the city of Harare is relatively malaria free.

Make sure that you take other preventative measures to avoid being bitten. The harder it is for a mosquito to bite you, the less chance there is of you getting malaria. Keep inside from dusk and cover your skin with loose clothing so that there are not large amounts of skin on show. Use insect repellent on the skin that cannot be covered. Ideally, you need to sleep in an air-conditioned room with the doors and windows shut but this is not always possible so you will need a mosquito net. This will provide protection because the mosquitoes cannot get through the net to land on you and the net has also been sprayed with insecticide.

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