Abstract
BackgroundMalaria cases have declined significantly along the China-Myanmar border in the past 10 years and this region is going through a process from control to elimination. The aim of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of malaria along the border, will identify challenges in the progress from control to elimination.MethodsNational reported malaria cases from China and Myanmar, along with the data of 18 Chinese border counties and 23 townships in Myanmar were obtained from a web-based diseases information reporting system in China and the national malaria control program of Myanmar, respectively. Epidemiological data was analyzed, including the number of reported cases, annual parasite index and proportion of vivax infection. Spatial mapping of the annual parasite index (API) at county or township level in 2014 and 2018 was performed by ArcGIS. The relationship of malaria endemicity on both sides of the border was evaluated by regression analysis.ResultsThe number of reported malaria cases and API declined in the border counties or townships. In 2014, 392 malaria cases were reported from 18 Chinese border counties, including 8.4% indigenous cases and 91.6% imported cases, while the highest API (0.11) was occurred in Yingjiang County. There have been no indigenous cases reported since 2017, but 164 imported cases were reported in 2018 and 97.6% were imported from Myanmar. The average API in 2014 in 23 Myanmar townships was significantly greater than that of 18 Chinese counties (P < 0.01). However, the API decreased significantly in Myanmar side from 2014 to 2018 (P < 0.01). The number of townships with an API between 0 and 1 increased to 15 in 2018, compared to only five in 2014, while still four townships had API > 10. Plasmodium vivax was the predominant species along the border. The number of reported malaria cases and the proportion of vivax infection in the 18 Chinese counties were strongly correlated with those of the 23 Myanmar townships (P < 0.05).ConclusionsMalaria elimination is approaching along the China-Myanmar border. However, in order to achieve the malaria elimination in this region and prevent the re-establishment of malaria in China after elimination, continued political, financial and scientific commitment is required.
Highlights
Malaria cases have declined significantly along the China-Myanmar border in the past 10 years and this region is going through a process from control to elimination
A total of 42 319 malaria cases were reported in the entire country in 2005 and this declined to 2678 cases in 2018 (Fig. 3a)
Reported malaria cases and annual parasite index (API) at county or township level Both the number of reported malaria cases and API declined in the border counties or townships on both sides
Summary
Malaria cases have declined significantly along the China-Myanmar border in the past 10 years and this region is going through a process from control to elimination. Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites that are transmitted to human through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It remains one of the most common infectious diseases in the world, with the number of confirmed cases estimated at 228 million with 405 000 deaths in 2018, compared with 416 000 estimated deaths in 2017 and 585 000 in 2010 [1]. The emergence and spread of artemisinin resistant Plasmodium falciparum has become one of the greatest challenges to malaria control and elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) [2,3,4,5]. Representatives from six countries signed the “Ministerial Call for Action to Eliminate Malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion by 2030” in 2018 [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
