A woman in her 50s from northern Israel was hospitalized early this week at Rambam Medical Center after returning from an organized trip to Zanzibar in Tanzania. She had stayed in the tropical country for about a week, developed clear malaria symptoms, and was admitted only after her condition worsened. Her diagnosis was delayed because an earlier test at another hospital gave a false negative.
Dr. Ami Neuberger, head of Internal Medicine D at Rambam and a senior physician in the infectious diseases unit, said the illness is largely preventable. “The drug treatment available today has almost no side effects,” he said, adding that many fears about malaria pills are based on older medications that are no longer on the market.
Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Typical symptoms, including high fever, chills, severe headache and general weakness, usually appear 10 to 15 days after the bite. Without treatment, the disease can become severe, causing serious anemia, kidney and liver damage, loss of consciousness and death.
According to a World Health Organization report published in December, there were about 282 million malaria cases worldwide in 2024 and 610,000 deaths across 80 countries, up by about 9 million cases from the previous year. Around 95% of cases and deaths are in Africa, and 11 countries account for about two-thirds of the global burden. Neuberger warned that anyone who has been in an exposed area and develops symptoms should seek medical testing immediately, because rapid tests can sometimes miss the disease. He also said travel agents are not a reliable source for medical advice and noted that even within lower-risk countries, some areas are much more dangerous than tourist centers.
