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Malaria

Warning:

If you suspect you or someone else has malaria, see your doctor or go straight to the emergency department.

Key facts

  • Malaria is a disease that is spread by infected mosquitoes.
  • It's common in parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Pacific and Eastern Europe.
  • People in Australia who have travelled to affected areas may get malaria.
  • You should try to prevent mosquito bites and use medicines to prevent malaria when travelling in affected areas.
  • If you get a fever during or after returning from an area with malaria, see a doctor.

What is malaria?

Malaria is a disease that is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. It causes an infection of your red blood cells, and can be life-threatening if not treated.

While malaria is mostly found in tropical countries, Australia was certified as malaria free in 1981. Malaria cases in Australia are caused by people travelling overseas.

When travelling to areas affected by malaria, it's important that you take steps to avoid becoming infected. Like many diseases, it is better to avoid catching malaria than to treat it.

Where is malaria found?

Malaria is common in parts of:

  • Asia
  • Africa
  • Central and South America
  • Eastern Europe
  • South Pacific

What are the symptoms of malaria?

Warning:

If you suspect you or someone else has malaria, see your doctor or go straight to the emergency department. 

Malaria symptoms can be mild or severe. Some mild symptoms include:

Serious symptoms include:

If you catch malaria, you usually start to feel unwell about 10 to 15 days after infection.

Symptoms may be mild for some people, especially if you have had malaria before. Because some malaria symptoms are not specific, getting tested early is important. Some types of malaria can cause severe illness and death.

Sometimes symptoms develop weeks or months after infection. Some types can come back months or years later. 

CHECK YOUR SYMPTOMS — Use the Symptom Checker and find out if you need to seek medical help.

Am I at risk of severe malaria infection?

People most at risk of severe infection from malaria are:

  • children under 5 years — the disease can progress very quickly
  • pregnant people
  • travellers
  • people with HIV or AIDS
  • people who have not had malaria before

Take care if you are pregnant, as malaria can raise your chance of:

What causes malaria?

Malaria is caused by parasites in the plasmodium family. These parasites are passed to humans by an infected female mosquito. Not all types of mosquitoes carry the infection.

There are 5 plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in people.

Very rarely, malaria can spread through blood transfusions. However, blood coming from donors who may have been exposed to malaria is screened.

How is malaria diagnosed?

Your doctor can diagnose malaria with a special blood test.

Sometimes it can be difficult to find the parasites that cause malaria. In these cases, your blood test may need to be repeated, or you may need to have other types of tests.

How is malaria treated?

If your doctor diagnoses malaria, it's important that you start anti-malarial medicine as soon as possible. If you are very unwell, you will need hospital treatment.

Anti-malarial medicines can be taken by mouth or given by an intravenous drip. How you take the medicines and for how long depends on:

  • how sick you are
  • which type of parasite you are infected with

You may also need treatment with paracetamol and fluids.

There is no vaccine against malaria available in Australia.

What are the complications of malaria?

Malaria infections can cause:

Can malaria be prevented?

There are 2 main ways to lower your chance of becoming sick with malaria:

  1. taking anti-malarial medicines
  2. preventing mosquito bites

However, specific advice will depend on where you are visiting.

Visit your doctor or a travel clinic 4 to 6 weeks before you travel. They can give you specific advice based on your travel itinerary and medical history.

Anti-malarial medicines

The Australian Government suggests you start taking anti-malarial medicine before travelling to a malaria-infected area.

Anti-malarial medicines do not always work due to anti-malarial drug resistance. See a doctor urgently if you get a fever while travelling or after returning to Australia.

Preventing mosquito bites

To avoid mosquito bites, you should:

  • use an effective insect repellent and use other products to deter mosquitoes (for example, mosquito coils or vaporising mats)
  • in the evening, wear light-coloured long trousers and long-sleeved shirts
  • sleep in a screened room or use insecticide-treated mosquito nets
  • avoid outdoor activities after sunset

Mosquito repellents should contain DEET, IR3535 or Icaridin.

Taking these precautions will help lower your chance of being bitten by a mosquito. But it's important to remember that nothing can guarantee your protection from malaria.

Resources and support

Download healthdirect's infographic guide to mosquito bites. Read the Mosquitoes are a Health Hazard factsheet and Preventing Mosquito Bites factsheet.

To learn more about staying safe from malaria while travelling, you can:

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Last reviewed: May 2026

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