Text for malaria info, travellers urged

Holidaymakers heading to exotic climes this summer might be interested to hear that a new text messaging service offering information on malaria has been launched.

Coming as part of the Malaria Awareness Campaign, the service lets travellers send the name of the location they are flying to via text message and receive country-specific data on how prevalent the mosquito-borne disease is.

The service, which encourages holidaymakers to get in touch with a health professional for advice once at their destination, has been launched by mobile healthcare specialist iPLATO and is funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health.

"Early reports on the volume of text interactions by travellers using the Malaria Advice Service during the months of May and June alone validate the usefulness of this service and its potentially lifesaving benefits," commented Tobias Alpsten, managing director of iPLATO.

According to the World Health Organization, about 40 per cent of the world's population is at risk of contracting malaria.

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