Abstract
Sri Lanka is a tropical island located South of India in the Indian Ocean. Malaria has been prevalent in the island for centuries but the country succeeded in eliminating the disease in 2013. Factors governing the past endemicity of malaria and its successful elimination from Sri Lanka in 2013 are analyzed. There is evidence that malaria might have been first introduced in the thirteenth century into a dry zone area with extensive irrigation works. Regular widespread epidemics of the disease have been documented in the twentieth century. The island nature of Sri Lanka, generally low transmission rates, widespread and accessible government hospitals and clinics that provide free and readily available diagnosis and treatment for malaria, adequate financial support and commitment to the Antimalaria Campaign (AMC), national and decentralized malaria control efforts sustained over a long period by dedicated and competent AMC staff, and the absence of zoonotic malaria are recognized as key factors responsible for eliminating malaria from Sri Lanka. These factors are analyzed in the context of their relevance to the present malaria elimination efforts in other countries with the overall aim of globally eradicating the disease.
Highlights
Reviewed by: Timothy Joe Wade, Environmental Protection Agency, United States Binukumar Bhaskarapillai, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, India
The island nature of Sri Lanka, generally low transmission rates, widespread and accessible government hospitals and clinics that provide free and readily available diagnosis and treatment for malaria, adequate financial support and commitment to the Antimalaria Campaign (AMC), national and decentralized malaria control efforts sustained over a long period by dedicated and competent AMC staff, and the absence of zoonotic malaria are recognized as key factors responsible for eliminating malaria from Sri Lanka
Malaria is one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. It is caused by four species of protozoan parasites that are transmitted between humans by anopheline mosquitoes, namely Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale, as well as different species of zoonotic malaria parasites, e.g., Plasmodium knowlesi [1]
Summary
Malaria is one of the most widespread parasitic diseases in the world. It is caused by four species of protozoan parasites that are transmitted between humans by anopheline mosquitoes, namely Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale, as well as different species of zoonotic malaria parasites, e.g., Plasmodium knowlesi [1]. The African region accounted for the majority of global cases of malaria (90%) followed by the Southeast Asian (7%) and Eastern Mediterranean (2%) regions. Such high endemicity resulted in an estimated 429,000 deaths (range 235,000–639,000) worldwide. Malaria Elimination in Sri Lanka globally by at least 90% compared with 2015 levels; to eliminate malaria from at least 35 countries in which malaria was transmitted in 2015; and to prevent re-establishment of malaria in all countries that are malaria free These WHO targets are designed to fulfill a target set by the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, which was to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases by 2030 [4]
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