Tour operators and airlines need to do more to warn backpackers of the dangers of contracting malaria on their travels, it has been claimed.
According to the authors of a report which appears on the British Medical Journal website, both tour operators and airlines have a valuable platform which could be used to highlight the risk of contracting malaria while abroad.
However, too few choose to use it - of 27 travel brochures studied, only 12 contained information about malaria.
As a result, the study authors have called on the Association of British Travel Agents and the International Air Transport Association to take a more proactive approach when it comes to raising awareness about the condition and recommended medications.
"We believe that the travel industry has an obligation to improve the quantity and quality of the malaria advice it provides... [and] for independent travellers, malaria advice should be provided by the airline, for example on the ticket itself," the researchers state.
As well as considering the impact of awareness, backpackers also need to secure adequate
backpacker travel insurance to prepare for eventualities such as ill health while abroad.
A recent study conducted by the Health Protection Agency's Malaria Reference Laboratory shows just 42 per cent of UK travellers take any form of malaria prophylaxis.
