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Guidance

Executive summary

Updated 17 June 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/malaria-prevention-guidelines-for-travellers-from-the-uk-2026/executive-summary

These practical guidelines from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) UK Malaria Expert Advisory Group (UKMEAG) are updated and reissued annually. They are intended for use by healthcare workers who advise UK-based travellers to malaria-endemic areas but may also be of use to prospective travellers who wish to read about the options themselves.

These guidelines cover preventive measures in detail. While diagnosis and treatment are outlined, the reader is referred to British Society for Haematology guidelines for the laboratory diagnosis of malaria and the UKMEAG malaria treatment guidelines for a full description of the actions required on those items.

Malaria prevention advice involves a combination of preventive measures (the ABCD of malaria prevention) including:

  • Awareness of risk
  • Bite prevention
  • Chemoprophylaxis
  • Diagnose promptly and treat without delay

Recommendations for antimalarials should be appropriate for the destination and tailored to the individual, taking into account possible risks and benefits to the traveller. As part of a stringent individual pre-travel risk assessment, it is essential that a full clinical history is obtained, detailing current medication, significant health problems and any known drug allergies.

While the focus of these guidelines is on malaria prevention, it should be emphasised that malaria prevention is only one aspect of pre-travel advice. A comprehensive risk assessment- based package of travel health advice should be provided to the traveller. Further resources for health professionals are listed under Information resources.

Main changes in this update of the guidelines

In this edition, updates have been made to the section on India in Country recommendations, using data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme of India.

The NHS TRAVAX website, including FitforTravel, has been retired.

The UKMEAG guidelines are available at Malaria: guidance, data and analysis. This page and the relevant country information pages on TravelHealthPro should be checked regularly for subsequent updates and practitioners should ensure that they always use the latest version as recommendations may change.

Authorship

This guidance was written on behalf of the UKHSA UKMEAG by Professor Peter Chiodini, Dr Dipti Patel, Professor Larry Goodyer, Mrs Jane Chiodini, Dr Charlotte Frise, Dr Diana Mabayoje, and Dr Dinesh Aggarwal.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Alex Kew for giving expert advice on mosquito bite avoidance measures.

We thank the UKMEAG Secretariat for continued support: Sanchayan Kanagarajah, Lynda Bramham, Terence Corrigan, Mary Gawthrop, Samia Richards-Zoubir and Anisha Desai for designing maps.

Citation

Chiodini PL, Patel D, Goodyer L, Chiodini J, Frise C, Mabayoje D, Aggarwal D. Guidelines for malaria prevention in travellers from the United Kingdom, 2026. London: UK Health Security Agency; January 2026.

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