Do most people who take malaria prophylaxis have serious side effects?
For travellers to high-risk areas, the risk of acquiring malaria and dying is significantly greater than the risk of experiencing a serious side effect from malaria prophylaxis. The great majority of people taking malaria prophylaxis (95% to 99%) have either no side effects or only mild and temporary ones. In most studies, only 1% to 6% of people change to an alternative drug because of side effects. Reactions to malaria prevention medications are almost always reversible. Death from malaria, however, is not. The final choice of which antimalarial drug to use should be based on an individual risk assessment from a knowledgeable travel medicine provider, which should include issues such as the drug’s effectiveness, the traveller’s willingness to accept potential side effects, the convenience of dosing (weekly versus daily), the cost and the traveller’s medical history, including contraindications to antimalarial drugs.
