Epidemiological analysis of malaria prevalence in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2014

Abstract

To understand the malaria epidemic situation in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2014, so as to provide the evidence for formulating the effective malaria elimination strategies and measures in this province. The data from the Disease Reporting Information System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention were collected and analyzed with the descriptive epidemiological method for the epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2014. A total of 997 malaria cases were reported in Hubei Province from 2010 to 2014, there were 618 cases of vivax malaria, 352 cases of falciparum malaria, 18 cases of Plasmodium ovale infection, and 9 cases of Plasmodium malariae infection. Among all the reported cases, 479 were local cases and 518 were imported cases. No local malaria cases were reported from Hubei Province since 2013. The overall imported malaria cases showed a gradual increasing trend from 2010 to 2014, the proportion of falciparum malaria increased quite significantly from 2010 to 2014. The malaria cases were mainly distributed in Xiangyang, Wuhan, Xiaogan, Yichang, Jingmen and Suizhou cities, reaching 81.85% of the cases of the whole province. There were 810 male cases and 187 female cases, with a sex ratio of 4.33:1. The local malaria cases were mainly aged from 40 to 69 years, accounted for 78.29% of the total local cases, and 88.22% (457/518) of the whole local cases were concentrated in 20-49 age groups. The local cases were mainly farmers (67.01%). Among the imported malaria cases, the occupation distribution concentrated mainly on the worker, migrant worker, and farmer (63.90%). The local malaria epidemic situation has been effectively controlled in Hubei Province, which reflects the initiative achievements of malaria elimination. However, there are still many imported malaria cases from abroad. Therefore, the imported malaria from abroad still remains the key of malaria control in Hubei Province.