TRAVEL websites offering last-minute deals should provide “explicit” warnings on the risk of malaria, health experts said today.

Holidaymakers who book late bargains can find they have no time to organise malaria prevention tablets or seek the right advice.

In a letter to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), experts in infectious diseases told of three Britons who recently returned from Gambia.

All had booked their holiday through the same travel website, with two booking late, and none had sought proper medical advice before travelling.

As a result, they did not take any tablets to help prevent malaria.

All three were admitted to hospital with severe malaria within two weeks of returning home.

The experts said: “The Gambia is a popular winter sun destination for UK travellers. Malaria is highly endemic there and is a risk to travellers.”

This risk could be avoided by taking appropriate chemoprophylaxis tablets and taking action to cover up or use sprays and creams to avoid bites, said the authors, from James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.