Abstract
As indigenous malaria has decreased over recent decades, the increasing number of imported malaria cases has provided a new challenge for China. The proportion of imported cases due to Plasmodium ovale has increased during this time, and the difference between P. ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri is of importance. To better understand P. ovale epidemiology and the differences between the two subspecies, information on imported malaria in Henan Province was collected during 2010–2017. We carried out a descriptive study to analyze the prevalence, proportion, distribution, and origin of P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri. It showed that imported P. ovale spp. accounts for a large proportion of total malaria cases in Henan Province, even more than that of P. vivax. This suggests that the proportion of P. ovale cases is underestimated in Africa. Among these cases, the latency period of P. o. curtisi was significantly longer than that of P. o. wallikeri. More attention should be paid to imported ovale malaria to avoid the reintroduction of these two subspecies into China.
Highlights
Malaria, one of the most important global public health problems, is still a serious cause of mortality, especially in Africa
Among all of the cases, 77.2% were infected with P. falciparum (n = 1059), followed by P. vivax (n = 142), P. ovale (n = 126), and P. malariae (n = 36), accounting for 10.3%, 9.2%, and 2.6%, respectively
There were four cases of P. falciparum coinfected with P. ovale, two of P. malariae with P. ovale, two of P. falciparum with P. vivax, and one of P. falciparum with P. malariae
Summary
One of the most important global public health problems, is still a serious cause of mortality, especially in Africa. Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae are the four species that normally cause illness in humans. According to the World Malaria Report 20172, P. falciparum is the most prevalent malarial species in Africa, accounting for 99% of estimated malaria cases in 2016. Among the imported malaria cases, all of the human malarial species have been detected, with P. falciparum being the main species. Malaria cases caused by P. knowlesi are reported in China[12]. Detailed information about the incidence and distribution of malaria caused by the four Plasmodium species in the world is limited. P. falciparum as the main imported Plasmodium species has attracted much more attention in China and the rest of the world. In the present study, based on imported malaria cases in Henan Province during 2010–2017, information was collected and the differences between P. o. In the present study, based on imported malaria cases in Henan Province during 2010–2017, information was collected and the differences between P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri were described and analyzed
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