Risk for individul travelers to get malaria in Thailand is not the same. Some individual may carry higher risk than the others. Risk to get malaria depends on many factors such as
1. Destination. You have NO risk if you travel only in Bangkok, Pattaya, Samui island, Phuket and the urban area. You may have some risk if you travel in the forested area or in the border area. Please see malaria map in Thailand below;
2. Duration of stay. This factor is straight-forward. The more you stay in the jungle area, the higher risk you carry.
3. Activity during travel. Mosquito that bring malaria usually active in the night time especially in dusk and dawn. Any travelers who have activity during that time carry higher risk than travelers who do not have the outdoor activity at night.
4. Seasonality. There is a seasonal variation of malaria risk in Thailand. The highest risk is in the rainy season.
5. The use of protective clothing, bed net and insect repellents.
6. Others
So according to the above factors, please keep in mind that risk for any travelers are not universally equal. But why could we say that the risk for someone to get malaria in Thailand is very, very low. And how low is the risk? Here are some information;
1. According to the study in United Kingdom reported in 1996. The risk for UK travelers to get malaria in Thailand was 1:12,254.
2. One study in 2005 pubished in the Emerging Infectious Diseases estimated the risk for travelers to get malaria in Thailand equal to 1:50,000.
3. Our hospital (Hospital for Tropical Diseases) is the main referral hospital in Thailand that take care many malaria cases per year. We found that in the 6 years period (2000-2005), there were only 21 travelers’ malaria in our hospital. Moreover, only 3/21 cases really acquired malaria in Thailand. So it is rare to find a case of traveler that really get malaria in Thailand.
So we might say that the risk for general travelers to get malaria in Thailand is very low. So this is why we do not recommend the use of antimalarial medication in Thailand.
However if you would like to travel outside Thailand, such as Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia. The risk may be higher in Thailand, you should consult with qualified medical staffs in this issue.
References:
1. Hill DR, et al. The Risk of malaria in travellers to Thailand. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1996; 90:680-1.
2. Asking HH, et al. Malaria risk in travelers. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11:436-441.
3. Piyaphanee W, et al. Travelers’ malaria at the hospital for tropical diseases, Bangkok, Thailand. A 6 Year review (2000-2005). KJP 2006; 44(3): 229-232.
- Share to your friends:
Recommend on Facebook- Tweet about it
Hi, my wife and two daughters (2 and 3 years old) are planning to visit Mae Hong Son and Mae Sai for a total of one month from July 15 to Aug 15. What would you recommend?
Andy
We do not recommend the use of antimalarial medication for prevention of malaria in Thailand. But it doesn’t mean that your family do not need to prevent malaria.
By the way, there is no malaria in the city of Mae Hong Son and city of Mae Sai. However if you plan to visit some more rural area. Please use the insect repellent and follow ABCD guideline from WHO.
Will be spending couple of days at Koh Samui and then travelling from Surat Thani to Bangkok with the night train. Is there a risk of malaria in such a case? Especially on the train? any pills recommended? thanks in advance.
There is no need to take antimalarial pill for traveling in Koh Samui and also the night train. Risk of malaria there is virtually nil. However, the use of insect repellent is recommended.
Im going to live in Soi Dao province near Cambodia border, how much is possible to catch a malaria?
If you live in Thailand, you chance to get malaria is not high. We do not recommend to use antimalarial medication. Just prevent yourself from mosquito bite and aware sign/symptoms of malaria.
We will be travelling by train from Hua Hin to Chumphon in February. We will stay overnight in the Novotel and travelling on to Koh Phangan the next morning. What are the malaria risks at this time and should we take medication?
We do not recommend the use antimalarial medication on your trip. Mosquito bite prevention is recommended.
We are traveling from Bangkok and into the jungle around Kanchanaburi for 3 days, staying overnight in the jungle as well. Afterwords we are taking a bus south for Koh Tao and Koh Samui. The total duration of our stay in Thailand is 14-15 days.
Would you with this information advise us to take Malaria preventives?
Thank you in advance.
Everyone should prevent themselves against malaria if visiting risk area (jungle in Karnhanaburi in your case). Follow WHO’s ABCD guideline as our reply in October.
But specfically to anti malarial pill, we do not recommend to use it in Thailand.
Please visit this link, if you haven’t
http://www.thaitravelclinic.com/blog/all-about-malaria/thai-antimalarial_drug.html
I am travelling to a mountain resort just north of Chiang Mai in April, then on to Ko Samet, Hua Hin and Krabi, should I take malaria medication?
Thank you, Pip
We do not recommend the use of antimalarial medication for prevention of malaria in Thailand. However, it doesn’t mean that you do not need to prevent malaria.
Please follow ABCD guideline from WHO
A. Be Aware of the risk, the incubation period and the main symptoms
B. Avoid being Bitten by mosquitoes, especially between dusk and dawn
C. Take antimalarial drugs (Chemoprophylaxis) to suppress infection where appropriate
D. Immediately seek Diagnosis and treatment if a fever develops one week or more after entering an area where there is a malaria risk, and up to 3 months after departure.
(Source: World Health Organization: http://www.who.int)
i leave in samui for 6 years i never take any pills i nevers get any thing exept aliment intoxication du to a i stupid pharang who make a paella i known some travellers take some medication as lariam very good for the stomach don t take any thing if you wish to die in samui isn t from the malaria
I am going to KOH CHANG in January. Do I need antimalarial tablets?
We do not recommend you to take antimalarial medication in Koh Chang. However, prevention of mosquito bite is necessary. DEET repellent is recommended. Please refer to this article, “Should I take antimalarial medication in Thailand?“.
There is no need to take antimalarial pill for traveling in Koh Samui. Risk of malaria there is virtually nil. However, the use of insect repellent is recommended.
Am travelling to Koh Samui beginning February this year.Do I need preventive antimalaria tablets? if yes which drug?
Thanks for your answer
ได้รู้อะไรหลายๆอย่างเยอะเลย ขอบคุณครับสำหรับช้อมูลดีๆ
[...] get malaria in Thailand is very, very low. You may ask how low? please read this article “Risk to get malaria in Thailand”. Most part of Thailand is malaria free. We do have some risks but confine only in the jungle and [...]