Malaria in Goa

The prevalence of malaria has hit a four-year high this year according to a local newspaper report, citing the State Health Department’s figures. This breaks a trend in recent years of declining numbers because of increasingly effective control of  mosquitoes and mosquito breeding sites, and probably results from the increasing presence of a migrant work force coming from States where malaria incidence is higher than that of Goa.

From a travel perspective this means there is a larger reservoir of malaria cases from which infection can be transmitted. Individual measures against mosquito bites are imperative and travellers need to discuss the advisability of taking antimalarial medication with a  travel health professional.