Sunday May 15, 05:58 PM .
ITN
British travellers remain unaware of the dangers of malaria despite it being endemic in more than 100 countries, according to health campaigners.
More than five million Britons travelled to high-risk malaria areas last year, but a quarter of them were ignorant of the health hazards, the organisers of Malaria Awareness Week said.
And 60% failed to seek travel health advice before venturing abroad, despite a recent estimate of 500 million worldwide cases each year of the most lethal form of the disease - falciparum.
Each year, around 2,000 UK travellers return from overseas with malaria, and deaths in the UK increased from eight in 2002 to 16 in 2003.
Dr George Kassianos, a member of the UK Malaria Guidelines Committee, said: "In its most severe form, malaria is a dangerous and life-threatening disease.
"What we are seeing far too often is people not taking anti-malarial medicine, taking the wrong medication for the country they are visiting, or not completing the course for the prescribed time after leaving the malarious area."
