The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received an official report of a confirmed malaria case in a person who traveled to Great Exuma, Bahamas, in March 2008. The case-patient had no recent travel history to any other country. There have been two prior outbreaks of malaria in the past two years in Great Exuma in which travelers became sick with malaria; one in May 2006 and another in August 2007.

Recommendations for Travelers to Great Exuma

Based on the repeated instances of chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum malaria occurring in travelers to the island of Great Exuma, there appears to be an ongoing, low-level risk of malaria infection for people traveling to the island. For this reason, CDC is reinstating the recommendation that travelers to Great Exuma, Bahamas:

• Take chloroquine malaria preventive medication (prophylaxis). (There is currently no known risk of malaria on other islands of the Bahamas; therefore, prophylaxis is not necessary for those islands.)
• Because medication to prevent malaria is not 100% protective, other measures to prevent mosquito bites should also be taken, such as using insect repellent when outdoors, and staying in an air-conditioned or well-screened area, or sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net during the peak biting period for the mosquitoes that carry malaria (dusk and dawn).
  
  
  • Adults: Use insect repellent on exposed skin surfaces when outdoors, particularly from dusk to dawn. Repellents containing 30%-50% DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) are recommended for adults. Lower concentrations of DEET offer shorter-term protection, requiring more frequent reapplication.
  • Infants and Children: For additional information regarding the use of repellent on infants and children, please see the “Insect and Other Arthropod Protection” section in Traveling Safely with Infants and Children and the “Children” section of CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions about Repellent Use.
  • Other Resources: To learn more about preventing mosquito bites and the appropriate use of insect repellents, visit Protection Against Mosquitoes and Other Arthropods in CDC Health Information for International Travel 2008 and What You Need to Know about Mosquito Repellents.
  
  
  
• Travelers should follow standard CDC health recommendations. See Health Information for Travel to The Bahamas.
• If you have traveled to Great Exuma and you become ill with fever and other flu-like symptoms, you should immediately seek professional medical care; inform your health-care provider about your recent travel.

More Information

For information about malaria, visit the CDC Malaria homepage.