Between April and November: No or minimal risk in rural regions with high migrant populations.

• Regions: Laconia, West Achaea, Missolonghi, Evros and Thessaloniki.

Prevention: Mosquito bite prevention

• Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic infection, which is transmitted by mosquitoes at night.
• Great care should be given to preventive mosquito protection from dusk to dawn in all malaria risk areas.
• In high-risk areas, the intake of prophylactic medication is strongly advised.
• For stays in low risk areas: discuss with a travel health advisor whether carrying an emergency self-treatment against malaria is necessary.
• If you belong to a special risk group (pregnant women, small children, senior citizens, persons with pre-existing conditions and/or with immune deficiency): seek medical advice before the trip as malaria can quickly become very severe.
• If you have a fever >37.5°C on axillary or tympanic measurement (a functioning thermometer is indispensable!) during or after the trip, see a doctor / hospital immediately and have a blood test done for malaria! This applies regardless of whether you have used prophylactic medication or not!

Fever during or after a stay in a malaria-endemic area is an emergency! Prompt diagnosis and treatment are required as the health of people with malaria can deteriorate very quickly. That means: if you have fever >37.5° (use a thermometer!) you need to test for malaria within a maximum time-frame of 24 hours, regardless of whether or not you have used prophylactic medication (malaria chemoprophylaxis). Try to reach a doctor or hospital where you can reliably receive such a test. If the first test is negative, it should be repeated on the following day if the fever persists.

Prevention of malaria requires a combination of approaches:

1. Diligent mosquito-bite protection at dusk and at night until dawn is of key importance. Use it for all regions where malaria is present, including areas where the risk is minimal. Bite protection is also effective against other insect-borne diseases that often occur in the same region. It consists of the following measures:
   • Clothing: Wear long-sleeved clothes and long trousers. For additional protection, impregnate the clothes beforehand with insecticides containing the active ingredient permethrin (e.g. Nobite® Textile).
   • Mosquito repellents: Apply a mosquito repellent to uncovered skin.
   • Sleeping room: Sleep in an air-conditioned room or under an impregnated mosquito net. Cautiously use ‘knockdown’ sprays indoors or burn mosquito coils strictly outside, e.g. under a table in the evening.
   • Chemoprophylaxis: Depending on the region and season, it may be necessary to take a prophylactic medication. This is recommended for all destinations with a high risk of malaria (marked as red on our maps). It needs to be taken with food before, during, and after your stay. Discuss with your travel health advisor to ascertain if you need to take chemoprophylaxis for your trip. The appropriate medication and the right dosage will be prescribed.
     
2. Taking standby emergency self-treatment (SBET, drugs used to self-treat malaria) with you is recommended for special risk situations (stay in regions with low malaria risk and if there is no or uncertain medical care available). Following such a course of SBET, please consult a doctor as soon as possible. Talk to your travel health advisor to determine whether carrying SBET is necessary, especially if you plan a trip where reliable medical infrastructure is not assured.
3. For some risk groups, malaria can quickly develop to a dangerous disease. If you are pregnant, if you are travelling with small children, or if you are a senior citizen and / or if you have other illnesses /pre-existing conditions and / or you are immunocompromised, you should seek advice from a specialist in travel medicine to determine whether chemoprophylaxis is recommended for your trip – even if the area is marked as low risk malaria zone.
   

For travellers, there is currently no malaria vaccination available.

• Take a functioning clinical thermometer with you!
• Malaria symptoms develop at the earliest 7 days after entering the malaria area. A fever > 37.5° always means suspicion of malaria!
• In case you have fever during or even months after a stay in a malaria area:
  • Immediately consult a health care facility to rule out malaria through a blood test.
  • This should be done within a maximum of 24 hours and applies regardless of whether you have used prophylactic medication or not!
  • The blood tests should be repeated if the result is negative or doubtful and fever persists or recurs.

• For persons having visited a malaria area with low risk and for whom SBET was prescribed:
  • If you have fever: immediately try to get tested for malaria.
  • If this is not possible, and fever persists for longer than 24 hours or recurs: start taking the standby emergency-self-treatment as it was prescribed by your travel health advisor.
  • Even if you have started your self-treatment against malaria: seek medical advice as quickly as possible to get the cause of your fever diagnosed.