Increasing cases of 'deadliest malaria' reported

A new report has warned Britons travelling to West Africa about the dangers of the deadliest malaria parasite.

The study published in the British Medical Journal has found that the number of imported cases of malaria has jumped from 5,120 cases between 1987 and 1991, to 6,753 from 2000 to 2006, reports Reuters.

Researchers from the Health Protection Agency found that plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, now accounts for around 64 per cent of the total cases.

The study also claims that only 42 per cent of British travellers to West Africa take anti-malaria drugs.

According to the report, around half of the imported falciparum cases involve travellers to Nigeria and Ghana.

Peter Chiodini, who worked on the study, told the news agency: "The overall numbers of malaria cases have remained about the same but the proportion of the dangerous sort has gone up significantly."

The World Health Organisation estimates that around 500 people become "severely ill" from malaria every year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa.