Malarone

What is Malarone?

Malarone is a medication that stops you from developing malaria (also known as an ‘antimalarial’). When you take Malarone, it stops the parasite that causes malaria from replicating itself in the body. It’s thought to work in most regions in the world where malaria is present, and be around 98-100% effective at preventing infection .

It’s a branded tablet, but there’s a generic version too that’s called ‘Atovaquone/proguanil’ (which is the name of the two active ingredients in it).

You’ll start taking Malarone two days before you arrive in a malaria risk zone, and take it daily while you’re there. When you leave, you’ll keep taking it for seven days after you return. This is because it can take seven days after a mosquito bite for malaria to ‘incubate’ in the body.

How does Malarone work?

Malarone protects you from malaria, an infection caused by mosquitos. Mosquitos in some areas carry a plasmodium parasite, which can enter your blood when they bite you. This parasite can then travel through your bloodstream to your liver, where it multiplies. Without treatment, the malaria infection may then spread to your red blood cells.

Malarone has two active ingredients, called atovaquone and proguanil. They work together to stop the malaria parasite from reproducing in your liver, so it weakens and limits the infection. It does this by destroying an enzyme called ‘dihydrofolate reductase’ (DHFR for short). This enzyme helps malaria to copy itself and spread. Once this enzyme is subdued, the parasite becomes weaker, and your immune system can then fight off any remaining infection.

What doses of Malarone are there?

There’s an adult dose for Malarone to prevent malaria, which is one tablet per day (250mg of atovaquone and 100mg of proguanil). This is the standard dose no matter which area you’re travelling to.

There’s also a paediatric version that contains a quarter of the dose (62.5mg and 25mg) and how much a child takes depends on their weight. We don’t offer this dose, so if you’re looking for malaria prevention treatment for a child, we recommend visiting a travel clinic.

If you’re treating malaria rather than preventing it with Malarone, the dose is higher. But if you have malaria you’ll need to be admitted to hospital and have your infection monitored.

How to take Malarone

To make sure Malarone works perfectly:

• begin treatment two days before you travel into a region with malaria
• take it everyday you’re there, at around the same time each day
• when you leave the at-risk zone, keep taking Malarone for seven days
• have food or a milky drink with Malarone if you have a sensitive stomach
• if you are sick within an hour of taking Malarone, take another tablet.

Always take Malarone exactly as our prescriber tells you to, and read the instructions before you take it.

How long does it take Malarone to work?

Studies have shown that for some people, Malarone can be absorbed into the bloodstream within two to four hours of taking it . But because it takes up to two days for Malarone to become fully effective, you’ll need to start taking it two days before you travel.

For it to stay effective, you’ll need to carry on taking it every day you’re ‘at risk’, and for another seven days after you return. This is because it can take up to a week for malaria to develop after a bite.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Malarone?

If you forget to take a dose of Malarone, take it as soon as you realise. If it’s almost time for your next dose, just take this at the normal time, and add an extra day onto the end of your treatment.

It can be easy to get out of a routine when you’re abroad, so setting a daily alarm can help you remember to take Malarone.

Don’t take two tablets of Malarone to make up for a missed dose. If you’ve taken too much Malarone, please contact your doctor.

Medically reviewed by

Dr Daniel Atkinson

GP Clinical Lead

on August 02, 2022.

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