Tourists who have visited a malaria-infected country and are over the age of 65 are almost 10 times more likely to die from the disease than those who are aged 18-35, according to a study published by the British Medical Journal.
The death rate among tourists is particularly high when returning from a holiday in the Gambia, West Africa. The risk of dying from malaria increases steadily with age with 4.6% of cases being fatal in people aged over 65. There were no deaths in children under 5 years. Overall, case fatality was 3.0% in tourists compared with 0.32% in travellers visiting friends and relatives. Those born in African countries with endemic malaria had a case fatality of 0.4% compared with 2.4%.
