Continuing importation of falciparum malaria from Goa into Europe

A case of falciparum malaria acquired in Goa, India, has recently been reported to the European Network on Imported Infectious Disease Surveillance (TropNetEurop, http://www.tropnet.net). The report relates to a Swedish woman in her fifties who had spent two weeks in Goa (Candolim beach) and Kerala in India without taking malaria chemoprophylaxis. In mid-December 2007, approximately two weeks after returning to Sweden, she fell ill with fever and a mild cough. Ten days after the onset of symptoms, thick and thin films were done and an infection with Plasmodium falciparum with a parasitaemia of 1.8% was diagnosed. The patient was admitted to hospital, uneventfully treated with a standard dose of mefloquine and discharged four days later.