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Over 90% of the estimated malaria-related deaths occur on the African continent. Despite the relatively low incidence of malaria in South Africa, compared with the rest of the continent, it remains a priority disease, especially for those who travel to malaria areas.

"Pharmacists play a vital role in the delivery of medicines to patients, and to combat the severe impact of malaria, therefore, the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) is participating in programmes to improve awareness of and access to malaria prevention and treatment," says Lorraine Osman of the PSSA.

Pharmacists to participate in Gauteng Malaria Surveillance Study Very little is known about the burden of disease in Gauteng. Despite being a notifiable disease, malaria cases outside the three malaria provinces are seldom reported.

In SA, malaria control is well established under the National Malaria Control Programme which focuses on areas of seasonal transmission, namely Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. However, SA's close proximity to highly endemic countries and frequent travelers between malaria areas and countries, are putting the greater South African population at risk.

South Africans have no immunity to malaria infection and any malaria infection may rapidly progress to complicated disease, if not treated urgently with appropriate drugs. Non-immune individuals infected with malaria are more at risk of developing severe disease such as cerebral malaria.

With the Malaria Control programme only running in malaria transmission areas, it is difficult to measure the incidence of malaria in Gauteng.

Anecdotal reports indicate that there are a number of malaria cases in Gauteng, with some of them resulting in severe complicated infections and even death.

Malaria cases in SA are currently under-reported The Gauteng surveillance study hopes to improve the malaria reporting system through increased awareness amongst healthcare providers. The study will identify and review diagnosed and treated malaria cases in Gauteng from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006 assess how cases are managed establish where patients contracted malaria infections assess the method of diagnosis of malaria in Gauteng assess patient outcomes and assess the proportions of severe infections and the risk factors. The result of this study will quantify the burden of malaria in Gauteng and enable recommendations to be made to improve management of the disease.

Few studies have examined imported malaria in non-endemic countries.

Travel-related risks pose a unique threat in South Africa where the close proximity between countries permits more frequent visits between the areas.

The Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa appeals to pharmacists and members of the public to participate in this study through their local pharmacies. The National Institute of Communicable Diseases will monitor and control the study.

At end March 2006, over 1200 malaria case were already reported in Gauteng.

Be careful of "natural" remedies as malaria protection Malaria prophylaxis plays an essential role in protecting people from this life-threatening infection. The Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa strongly advises against the indiscriminate use of natural remedies which have not undergone clinical trials, and have not been proven to be effective. The use of unreliable agents can be extremely dangerous and life threatening. The Society also advises visitors to malaria areas to take other personal protection measures, even during the "off-season" when malaria prophylaxis may not be needed in certain areas.

Basic protection includes using mosquito repellent, wearing protective clothing and sleeping under bed nets.