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The Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention (ACMP) 2015 Guidelines are now available here.
The ACMP is an expert advisory committee of Public Health England (PHE) that produces guidelines on malaria prevention which are updated annually. Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has representation on ACMP. Changes to recommendations from ACMP (e.g. new advice on drugs and anti-insect measures) are incorporated into Travax advice. For country specific malaria recommendations, Travax uses recommendations from the Scottish Malaria Advisory Group (SMAG). SMAG recommendations are published on Travax here.
Key changes to the 2015 ACMP guidelines
The key changes in the 2015 update include:
• updated guidance on the use of insect repellent and sun protection
• clarification on the use of hydroxychloroquine
• updated guidance on the use of anticoagulants with antimalarials
• updated guidance on the use of doxycycline in epilepsy
• clarification of advice for travellers moving through areas where different antimalarials are recommended.
ACMP position on the use of mefloquine
During the ACMP meeting in June the committee reviewed current evidence on the use of mefloquine (proprietary name Lariam), including data provided by the manufacturer Roche, and recommendations on the use of mefloquine for malaria prevention made by other countries including the United States. The ACMP concluded that all the currently available evidence had been examined and, on the basis of this, determined that there should be no changes to existing ACMP recommendations regarding mefloquine. Falciparum malaria is a common, preventable and life-threatening infection. Mefloquine is an extremely effective antimalarial and is currently recommended by the ACMP as one of a number of antimalarials for travellers to high risk areas following an individual risk assessment.
Details on the use of mefloquine in travellers, including contraindications and drug interactions are detailed in section 4.2.4 of the revised guidelines.
Travax malaria advice
Comprehensive malaria advice can be found on Travax in the malaria section. Country specific malaria advice and malaria maps, are found on individual country pages.
