Trends in antimalarial drugs prescribed in Australia, 1992-1998

Abstract

The use of chemoprophylaxis decreases the severity and frequency of death from malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum compared with those who take no prophylaxis. Advice on the prevention of malaria has been deemed as among the most important to give travelers in Australia. Geographic knowledge of the distribution and prevalence of malaria and drug-resistant malaria should be used to base decisions concerning whether or not to give malaria chemoprophlaxis. Therapeutic guidelines, which include guidelines on malaria chemoprophylaxis, assist travel health advisers in their selection of antimalarials. Previous studies have suggested that considerable variation exists in patterns of antimalarials used in relation to the prevailing antimalarial guidelines in Australia.