Does malaria lie dormant in the body?

if you get malaria and are treated with AB's, can malaria flare up again without being reinfected. What i'm trying to get ask is if antibiotics kill off the disease completely or do they only treat the episode of malaria. Does it then lie domant in the body with the potential to flare up again. My friend said she never takes antimalarials because she once had it as a child. Is this wise.

Malaria malariae (a rare, benign form) can survive in man for up to 30 years, luckily without causing much discomfort. This form can also be treated, provided you get the right medication.

Immunity to malaria develops very slowly and is quickly lost. Children living in endemic regions (where the disease occurs naturally all year round) develop their own protection against the disease over four to five years if they survive. On average one child dies every 30 seconds from malaria in these countries.

Britons neither have nor develop immunity unless they have been exposed to malaria with no protection.

It is important to remember that nationals from malarious areas who return home for holidays need the same malaria protection as ordinary travellers, because immunity develops slowly and is rapidly lost.

While malaria medications such as chloroquine, doxycycline, or mefloquine (Lariam) can prevent symptoms of acute malaria from developing by suppressing the infection in the bloodstream, they do not prevent relapses of infection caused by certain strains of the parasite that have a persistent liver phase.

Fortunately, the most common type of malaria is the P. falciparum strain that has no relapsing phase, so malaria medications will prevent any symptoms of this infection. However, it is necessary to continue such medications for four weeks after a possible exposure to ensure that the infection has run its course before the medication can be safely stopped.

Other strains of malaria such as P. vivax, ovale, or malariae can infect the liver and persist in a dormant state for months, or even up to several years, after exposure. Because of this risk of relapse, travelers to malarious areas are not allowed to donate blood for up to three years after returning.

In the unfortunate event that you do develop a relapsing case of malaria, it can be easily treated by suppressing the acute symptoms with chloroquine and then eradicating the liver infection with a medication called primaquine. This medication is more toxic and has more adverse effects than chloroquine, especially in individuals with an inherited deficiency in the blood enzyme G6PD that can be easily screened for with a simple blood test prior to treatment.

Antibiotics are not the treatment for malaria!
Yes it can lie dormant in the body, often for many years.
Your friend is unwise not to take prophylactic medication as there are many different types of malarial parasite.

it can flare up unexpectedly for the rest of your life

This is a bit much if she is an adult. She needs to talk to a doctor about this. There is a dormancy period of a month or 2, but I take it we are talking about many years.

Yes. It can lie dormant in your body & flare up occasionally.

Taking drugs for the rest of your life is never wise.
I contracted malaria back in 1981, which would usually reoccur when there was a flu going round - probably when my defences were at their weakest. Although dramatically decreased in frequency over the years, I still had attacks up to 2002. In 2003 I started an unrelated course of treatment to boost my immunity to diseases like malaria. Much to my amazement, it worked!

If you want to know more just drop me an e-mail, I will be happy to dig out all the information I have.
Good luck.