• Clean Water
• Food and drink on holiday
• Immunisation
• Insect Bites on Holiday
• Jet Lag
• Motion sickness
• Pregnant travellers
• Safe Sex
• Sun exposure
• Taking medicine overseas
• Travel Medical Kits
• Volunteers and expeditions

Insect Bites on Holiday

Insect bites are unpleasant enough but in many parts of the world they carry with them the added danger of diseases. Malaria is the most deadly insect-borne disease in the world, affecting 300-500 million people, with more than 2 million deaths annually. Dengue fever, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, typhus, river blindness and Japanese B encephalitis are also carried by insects. If you are planning to travel to areas known to be hot spots for any of these diseases, it is essential to take steps to minimise your risk of infection. Note that your travel medical insurance will cover you only if you have taken reasonable precautions to protect yourself.

Before you go check what disease risks from insects there may be in the area you plan to visit. Learn about the symptoms you should look out for and make sure you take the recommended precautions. The diseases are caused by protozoa, bacteria or viruses carried by the insects, rather than by the insect itself and not all bites will infect you. Reducing the number of bites, however, will reduce the likelihood of becoming infected. Mosquitoes are not the only carriers of diseases; sand fly species transmit the disease leishmaniasis, tsetse flies transmit sleeping sickness and ticks can carry a bacterium which causes Lyme disease. Check your body for ticks regularly and if found remove with tweezers by grasping the tick close to its mouthparts and pulling firmly. To avoid picking up a tick, stay out of dense undergrowth and wear long sleeved shirts and long trousers, preferably tucked into socks or with drawstring bottoms.

To avoid other insect bites, cover as much skin as possible using suitable clothing as above and use insect repellent on exposed skin. Repellents based on DEET are effective for 4 – 6 hours and must be reapplied. If you have never used DEET before it is a good idea to check whether you are sensitive to it before you go away and find a different repellent if you do react to it. The critical time for being bitten is from dusk until dawn so use a permethrin-treated net for protection whilst sleeping. Air conditioning also inhibits mosquito activity.

There are no vaccinations against malaria but you can help to protect yourself with antimalarial medication. Take medical advice as to the type of medication you need, which will depend on the area you plan to visit. It is important to take the antimalarial medicine regularly for the prescribed length of time. This will be from before you leave until some time after your return in order to cover the incubation period of the disease and it is all too easy to forget once your trip is over.

If you have been travelling in a disease-risk zone do not ignore any unusual symptoms, get checked out straight away if you feel unwell. Early treatment will mean the best chance of a good recovery. The symptoms of malaria can occur up to two years after exposure so check the time limit for cover on your travel medical insurance relating to any illness (or disability caused by an illness) contracted whilst on holiday.