Malaria Outbreak Research Articles

Evaluating the Pahlavi Government's Performance against the Outbreak of Malaria in Fars Province (1347 – 1334 AH)

Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases, the growth and prevalence of which depends on the environmental and climatic conditions of each region. The Pahlavi government took measures to prevent the spread of this disease in order to ensure public health in the society. In 1334 to 1347A.H, the seventh province of Fars, which included a large part of the coastal and post-coastal areas of the Persian Gulf, was considered one of the vulnerable areas to this disease due to its geographical location. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to investigate and analyze the actions of the Pahlavi government to control and prevent the spread of malaria in Fars province during the years 1334 to 1347A.H. The research method in this article is descriptive-analytical and data collection was done by referring to historical first-hand sources and unpublished local (Persian) documents. The findings of the research show that the Pahlavi government, within the framework of the second and third seven-year construction plans, has implemented solutions to treat and eradicate this disease, such as spraying operations, sending health teams, allocating special funds and implementing programs. He did training for this purpose. Statistical analysis shows that these measures were relatively successful and effective in preventing the spread and control of malaria in Fars. However, the implementation of this plan in Fars was not without challenges.

Malaria, climate variability, and interventions: modelling transmission dynamics

Assessment of the relative impact of climate change on malaria dynamics is a complex problem. Climate is a well-known factor that plays a crucial role in driving malaria outbreaks in epidemic transmission areas. However, its influence in endemic environments with intensive malaria control interventions is not fully understood, mainly due to the scarcity of high-quality, long-term malaria data. The demographic surveillance systems in Africa offer unique platforms for quantifying the relative effects of weather variability on the burden of malaria. Here, using a process-based stochastic transmission model, we show that in the lowlands of malaria endemic western Kenya, variations in climatic factors played a key role in driving malaria incidence during 2008–2019, despite high bed net coverage and use among the population. The model captures some of the main mechanisms of human, parasite, and vector dynamics, and opens the possibility to forecast malaria in endemic regions, taking into account the interaction between future climatic conditions and intervention scenarios.

Musta mere ranniku eesti asunikud malaaria meelevallas

Musta mere ranniku eesti asunikud malaaria meelevallas

Survei Demam Secara Massal Berhasil Mengendalikan Wabah Malaria Di Pulau Bungin Kabupaten Sumbawa Nusa Tenggara Barat : Pelajaran Tentang Pentingnya Deteksi Agresif Di Salah Satu Pulau Terpenting Di Dunia

Bungin Island is a very small island where population density is high, with a total population of 3,287 in a 2 kilometer-square area. The Annual Parasite Index (API) on Bungin Island in 2006 was 16,0 per thousand people. Outbreaks of malaria in Bungin Island are correlated with several controllable factors. The goal of this study is to aggressively detect and treat malaria, as well as to identify the factors that contribute to malaria outbreaks. Data was collected from the resident of Bungin Island who came to Sub-Primary Health Center Bungin Island in October 1, 2007. The data collection when outbreak malaria occurs, consisted of anamnesis, physical examination and test for type of malaria. A finger prick blood sample was collected and tested with rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for type of plasmodium. Treatment base on standard treatment for malaria from Indonesian Health Department was given to the subjects were malaria positive. The total 201 subjects was tested by RDT, in which 93 positive malaria (46,27%). Most of them were infected by Plasmodium vivax (97.85%) and only 2 subjects were infected by Plasmodium falciparum (2.15%). There were 23 subjects (24.27%) showed malaria positive without clinical symptoms. The subjects positive malaria with clinical symptoms, 8.57% were found to have spleenomegaly and 7.14% were found to have hepatomegaly. Incidence of malaria decrease siginifantly in few week after aggresive detection and appropriate treatment. A few years later, malaria incidence was disappeared. The incidence of malaria in Bungin Island was high when an outbreak occured. Aggressive detection with mass blood survey could find asymptomatic malaria in the population and appropriate treatment would decrease positive malaria until it disappeared.

Malaria Outbreak in the Southeast of Iran in 2022

Malaria Outbreak in the Southeast of Iran in 2022

The impact of hydropower dam construction on malaria incidence: Space-time analysis in the Brazilian Amazon.

During the first two decades of the 21st century, Brazil carried out massive public investments on infrastructure projects, such as large hydropower dams, with potential impact on population health. Here we characterize local malaria transmission and its potential spread during the construction of three large hydropower dams in the Brazilian Amazon. We focus on Porto Velho (PVH), in Rondônia state, where the Santo Antônio and Jirau dams were built (2008-2013), and Altamira region (ATM), in Pará state, where the construction of the Belo Monte dam took place (2011-2016). Analyzed data cover 4 years before, 6 years during, and 4 years after each dam construction. In total, we utilized malaria case notifications entered into the electronic malaria notification system of the Ministry of Health of Brazil between January 2004 and December 2020 (n = 39,977,167 malaria notifications). First, we used Interrupted Time-Series Analysis (ITSA) to assess temporal changes in malaria notifications in the study sites. Then, we conducted a space-time cluster analysis to investigate the potential of malaria spread from the study sites (sources) to elsewhere (sinks). Finally, we present the sociodemographic characteristics of exported cases over time using multivariate logistic regressions. Our results show that there was no upsurge in malaria cases in the study sites and exported cases did not trigger outbreaks in other localities. Exported malaria infections originating from PVH and ATM were typically found in working age literate males involved in mining, farming or traveling. We suggest that efficient control measures, such as ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment; fostering integrated vector control; promoting health education; and prevention, detection and containment of outbreaks, if properly implemented and sustained, may prevent local and introduced malaria outbreaks during and after hydropower dam construction in the Amazon.

Malaria Outbreak Investigation in Nensebo District, West Arsi Zone, Southeast Ethiopia: A case-control study

Background: Malaria-related morbidity and mortality are 94% concentrated in Africa. Ethiopia is one of ten African countries affected by malaria, with 60% of the population living in malaria-risk areas. Recently, seasonal outbreaks have been reported in all regions, including previously malaria-free areas. Nationally, the Nensebo district of the west Arsi zone is classified as having very low transmission. During the 21st WHO week of 2021, Melka Denbi kebele reported an unusually high number of malaria cases to this district. The purpose of this study was to look into the magnitude of the malaria outbreak and the factors that contributed to it. Methods: A descriptive study was followed by an unmatched case-control study on 86 cases and 172 controls who were chosen at random. Malaria cases were those who were confirmed positive by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and were line-listed at a health facility, while controls were those who lived nearby and were confirmed negative by RDT. At a p-value of 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval, logistic regression was used to identify malaria contracting factors.Results: With a mean age of 22 (12.31SD), the overall attack rate was 20.2/1000. Plasmodium vivax (PV) 105 (52.8%) was the most common. Staying out at night (AOR=3.94; 95%CI: 2.18-7.37) and stagnant water/intermittent river within 1 km of the vicinity were risk factors. Screened houses were protective (AOR=0.49; 95%CI: 0.27-0.89), as was knowledge of malaria transmission (AOR=0.51; 95%CI: 0.28-0.93) and prevention and control methods (AOR=0.50; 95%CI: 0.27-0.93).Conclusion: The illness was caused primarily by PV species known for their relapsing characteristics. Risk factors included stagnant water near homes and sleeping outside at night. Malaria screening centers and increased public awareness reduce the risk of contracting the disease. Our recommendations included regular environmental monitoring, behavioral change communication, ensuring radical cure, and further research with a detailed entomological survey and climate variables.

Recently outbreak of malaria in current world: species, etiology, life cycle, transmission, symptoms, vaccination, diagnostic tests, treatment, and complications.

Recently outbreak of malaria in current world: species, etiology, life cycle, transmission, symptoms, vaccination, diagnostic tests, treatment, and complications.

Questionnaire-Based Analysis of Adverse Events and Compliance with Malaria Chemoprophylaxis in Taiwan

Malaria was eradicated in Taiwan in 1952; however, imported malaria cases are reported every year. The subtropical climate in Taiwan permits mosquito propagation and possible outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate travelers' compliance and side effects of malaria prophylaxis to prevent a malaria outbreak in Taiwan. In this prospective study, we enrolled travelers who visited our travel clinic before going to malarious areas. A total of 161 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Associations between the occurrence of side effects and compliance with antimalarial drugs were analyzed. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated after adjusting for potential risk factors in multiple logistic regression analysis. Of the 161 enrolled travelers, 58 (36.0%) reported side effects. Insomnia, somnolence, irritability, nausea, and anorexia were associated with poor compliance. Mefloquine was not associated with more neuropsychological side effects than doxycycline. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that chemoprophylaxis compliance was affected by a younger age, visiting friends and relatives, visiting the travel clinic more than 1 week before the trip, and preferring to use the same antimalarial regimen on the next trip. Our findings could provide information to travelers besides labeled side effects to improve compliance with malaria prophylaxis and consequently help to prevent malaria outbreaks in Taiwan.

Malaria outbreak along the India-Bhutan border town of Saralpara, Assam, India.

A remarkable progress is being made in the South-East Asia region in reducing the burden of malaria. While all countries are committed to malaria elimination, continued transmission at and across international borders poses a threat to achieving this goal. We investigated an outbreak of malaria in the India-Bhutan border area in a district of Assam state, India. A line listing of cases occurring during the outbreak period was made and a house-to-house survey was carried out to identify additional cases in the community. Entomological investigation consisted of light trap collection of vectors. Patients and health workers were interviewed to obtain information on the possible mode of transmission and ongoing inter-country collaboration across the border. Between October 21 to November 18 2022, 37 cases of malaria (all Plasmodium vivax), were diagnosed in Saralpara area of Kokrajhar district of Assam, bordering Bhutan. Of these four were diagnosed in Sarpang hospital, Bhutan. Median age was 20 years (range 3 to 70 years). Male to female ratio was 1:1.2. In addition, 6 individuals with asymptomatic malaria were detected in the community through an active case finding campaign. No cases were however reported on Bhutan side of the border. Anopheles culicifacies and An. annularis were identified from light trap collection. Saralpara is a remote and forested area where most of the residents are poor and engaged predominantly in farming activities. Being a harvesting season, they tend to stay overnight to protect their harvest from elephants. The health authorities in India and Bhutan exchanged information regularly at district-to-district level on the outbreak including through available and easy modes such as WhatsApp, telephone as well as electronic mail and collaborated in coherently implementing preventive measures on both sides and in managing the cases. The outbreak of malaria in Saralpara demonstrates the risk of malaria outbreak in remote and forested areas, with possibility of spill over to the other side of the border. The fact that two countries had excellent inter-country cross-border collaboration and prior commitment thereby preventing further transmission of malaria to Bhutan can serve as a best practice for cross-border control of malaria and other communicable diseases.

Morphological atypia and molecular profile of Plasmodium vivax: Findings from an outbreak in the Brazilian Amazon.

This study aimed to perform morphological and molecular analyses of parasites isolated from the blood of malaria-infected individuals during an outbreak in the Microregion of Cametá, State of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. A total of 260 positive samples were identified by microscopy as Plasmodium vivax; however, in three samples, forms considered unusual for the species were found and defined as morphological atypia of P. vivax. Single P. vivax infection was confirmed by qPCR in all samples. Among 256 genotyped samples, the VK247 genotype alone was identified in 255 samples, and the VK210 genotype was found in only one. The study showed that this malaria outbreak was caused by the etiological agent P. vivax, and for the first time, morphological atypia was described in isolates circulating in Brazil. Likewise, for the first time, the VK247 genotype was detected predominantly in single infections in an area of the State of Pará, which may suggest a greater circulation of the genotype in the region.

Strengthening surveillance, disease detection, and outbreak response through Guinea-Bissau's Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Program: a cross-sectional descriptive study.

the goal of the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) - Frontline is to strengthen the country's surveillance capacity at the district level to prepare and respond to health emergencies, including outbreaks, by training a skilled frontline public health workforce. We describe the FETP - Frontline program, including implementation, structure, achievements, impact, and its role in improving the epidemiological workforce capacity of Guinea-Bissau. this cross-sectional descriptive study uses 2015-2019 program data collected through record reviews and historical narratives from FETP students and graduates. We generated descriptive summary statistics using the Guinea-Bissau's FETP-Frontline program database, student assignments, and investigation reports, after reviewing the FETP standardized curriculum and program guidelines. since its inception in 2016, FETP Frontline has implemented 14 cohorts and trained 198 frontline surveillance officers. Program participants improved surveillance data quality, investigated 51 outbreaks at national and regional levels, and contributed to disease research and surveillance in 227 separate field investigations. Participants frequently responded to priority health emergencies, including clusters or outbreaks of Zika, microencephalies, dengue, yellow fever, anthrax, malaria, and tuberculosis. Guinea-Bissau's FETP - Frontline program provides a practical example of an effective strategy to strengthen health systems through a well-prepared workforce trained to quickly detect and respond to health threats.

Brewing epidemic of communicable diseases after massive flooding in Pakistan.

Brewing epidemic of communicable diseases after massive flooding in Pakistan.

Agent-Based Modeling of Malaria Transmission

Despite global efforts to eradicate malaria, it remains a major health threat to nearly half of the world’s population. Recent statistics show that globally, there are over 200 million malaria cases, and estimated deaths are close to half a million. Africa alone accounts for almost 90% of these cases. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand the transmission dynamics of malaria. Mathematical methods have been widely used to model and understand disease dynamics and outbreak patterns. Although mathematical methods have provided good results for homogeneous populations, they impose significant limitations for investigating certain heterogeneities in a population, such as age and vaccine status. This paper proposes an agent-based modeling approach that permits the capture of heterogeneous mixing and agent interactions, thus enabling a better understanding of malaria dynamics and outbreak patterns. Our approach is illustrated in a case study using climate and demographic data of the cities of Tripura, Limpopo, and Benin. Our agent-based simulation was validated against the reported cases of malaria collected in these cities. Furthermore, the efficiency of the proposed model was compared with the mathematical models used as a benchmark. A statistical test confirmed that the agent-based model is robust and has the potential to accurately predict the peak seasons of malaria. These results can help healthcare providers and policymakers have intervention mechanisms in place in advance, which can potentially help reduce the malaria transmission rate.

GIS APPLICATION ON HEALTH SERVICES FOR MALARIA DETECTION IN NASARAWA STATE, A CASE STUDY OF KEFFI

GIS technology has advanced in the area human health and comfort for the stable development in our society. The issue of malaria outbreak and lack of proper hygiene was alarming in most developing countries of Africa and South East Asia. In this study, data of out-patients were collected and analysed using new method of cloud-GIS which is also function like web GIS. The recent development in most hospitals is the creation of patients’ database for easy service delivery. Everything now is turning to be electronically synchronised for quick attention and time saving. The introduction of cloud Geographic Information System, patient’s lives were improved and saved. Once the information of the patient is recorded, then it speeds up the health delivery of necessary diagnoses to be administered. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the spread of the malaria disease and to examine the spatial and non spatial attributes of the patients in Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The results indicated that about 12 districts were geocoded using 2 years data from 2020 to 2021. In 2020 about 1,145 people were contracted with Malaria in Keffi with the highest record geocoded is Anguwan Tive in July and Sabon Layi in June 2020. While, the lowest malaria cases was reported in Antau and GRA area. In 2021 the total people attacked by malaria is 1,108. This reported little improvement and reduction of malaria from the previous year in Keffi.

The Role of Rural Health Centres in the Detection and Management of Malaria Outbreaks in a Low Transmission Setting of Choma District, Zambia

The Southern Province of Zambia has been afflicted with malaria for many years, but in recent times, with the success of the national malaria control programme, malaria transmission has declined significantly and is now at low ebb. This success has been attributed to the effective use of indoor residual spraying, proper use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets provided to the people, as well as the use of artemisinin combination therapies in all rural health centres (RHCs) to treat clinical malaria cases at health facilities as well as in the communities by trained community health workers (CHWs). Despite this success and in trying to understand the epidemiology and control of malaria in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, it has been clear that local elimination is most unlikely due many challenges such as lack of incentives for CHWs who are the first link of the community to the health care system, inability of the officially approved rapid diagnostic tests to detect low level parasitemia in asymptomatic individuals, and anti-malaria stock-outs in RHCs, especially during the rainy season when most areas are unreachable due to impassable roads. This paper discusses the role of RHCs in the detection and management of malaria outbreaks in low transmission settings and the challenges of achieving elimination in Choma District, Southern Province, Zambia. These challenges could adversely impact malaria elimination if they remain unanswered.

Outbreaks of Vector-borne Infectious Disease Following a Natural Disaster

Introduction Over the past century, global disaster deaths have averaged approximately 45,000 people annually. Vector-borne pathogens are susceptible to climatic conditions influencing vector survival, gonotrophic cycle, and transmission efficiency in human hosts. However, the literature has not collectively analyzed the relationship between natural disasters and vector-borne disease (VBD) outbreaks over decades. Objective This literature review identifies and examines published papers documenting VBD outbreaks associated with natural disasters. Additionally, information was gathered about the kinds of natural disasters commonly associated with VBD outbreaks and which diseases typically occur post- disasters. Methods A literature review was performed using two search strategies with terms for natural disasters and vector-borne infectious diseases as identified in the title, keywords, or abstract. Observational studies and systematic review papers were screened on the occurrence of a VBD post-disaster. Results A total of 30 studies were captured. Eight disaster types were captured: flood, hurricane, tropical cyclone, typhoon, tsunami, drought, monsoon, and earthquake. Floods (n=21), hurricanes (n=20), tsunamis (n=8), and drought (n=8) account for the top four disaster events commonly associated with VBDs. Of the VBDs identified, malaria outbreaks were identified in 16 papers, while dengue outbreaks were captured in 11. Conclusion The literature reveals a predominance of floods, malaria and dengue. While there is increasing acknowledgment that disasters can lead to outbreaks of VBDs, there is limited research and consistent data available. Future research should rely on well-defined, consistent case detection and enrollment procedures, preferably at various lag periods following a disaster event.

Assessment and Implications of Waste Transportation and Disposal Practices of Rural and Urban Dwellers in Kwara State, Nigeria

The piles of solid waste that have accumulated across the cities of Kwara State, Nigeria, pose a serious threat to public health. The implications of waste disposal and transportation practices on the health of people cannot be undermined, which may include environmental health issues such as outbreaks of cholera, lassa fever, malaria and other diseases which have been frequently experienced in the study area. In order to avert such incidences in the nearest future, this study assessed solid waste disposal and transportation practices and its implications on the health of the people in rural and urban areas of Kwara State. Three research questions and two hypotheses were tested for the study. An ex-post facto research design was used. The sample for the study was chosen using a multi-stage sampling technique. A total of 754 questionnaires were given to household heads who were chosen at random from six Local Government Areas in Kwara State. For research questions, mean, standard deviation and percentages were used, and the study hypotheses were analysed using an independent sample t-test. Findings revealed that rural and urban dwellers in Kwara State use similar methods of solid waste disposal (P-values= 0.99>0.05, 0.99>0.05) and transportation (P-values=0.13>0.05, 0.07>0.05). Most of the disposal methods used are unhygienic and not environmental friendly (open burning, dumping on bare floors and drainages, and use of pits dug at the backyard). Also, majority of the respondents do not transport their wastes, some of the respondents give to children to dispose off on the streets, some take it along to dispose illegally when going to work, while a few patronize government and commercial waste collectors). The implications of such practices were found to be too important to be neglected such as unpleasant odour, disease outbreaks and loss of aesthetic value of the streets. It was suggested among others that household members should try to use accessible healthy waste disposal options such as composting, sanitary landfill and recycling of waste in order to prevent environmental health diseases and degradation.

The public health response to an outbreak of border-spill malaria along China-Myanmar border.

Malaria importation can be caused by cross-border movement either of both people and anopheline mosquitoes. However, there still lacks robust evidence of imported malaria caused by Plasmodium spp. infected anopheles along international border areas (border-spill malaria). The objectives of this study were to confirm whether an outbreak of Plasmodium vivax malaria is border-spill malaria and assess the effects of China's public health response along China-Myanmar border. Epidemiological, parasitological and entomological investigations were conducted to investigate the outbreak of border-spill malaria. Meanwhile, comprehensive interventions were carried out to prevent further transmission and reintroduction of malaria. Rapid diagnostic testing, microscopy and polymerase chain reaction were performed and the infections were confirmed as P. vivax. A total of 22 (9.21%) of 239 workers contracted P. vivax during the outbreak. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that the distance of worker shelters in China within 300 meters to the internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Myanmar was a risk factors associated with malaria infection (adjusted odds ratio 7.5920; 95% confidence interval, 2.6079-22.1013; P = 0.0002). After comprehensive interventions, malaria transmission was successfully interpreted and prevented at the project site till the completion of project on 14 January 2020, and recurrence of P. vivax malaria was not detected by the end of 2020. This study provided robust evidence of border-spill malaria along China-Myanmar border. Malaria parasite reservoir and distance travelled by female anopheline mosquitoes are two determinants for border-spill malaria. The public health response to the outbreak indicates that the malaria surveillance and response system works well in preventing reintroduction of malaria. However, prevention of border-spill malaria is still a major challenge in the Yunnan border area, China.

Leveraging hybrid machine learning and data fusion for accurate mapping of malaria cases using meteorological variables in western India

We propose a hybrid machine learning algorithm (i.e.,P2CA−PSO−ANN) to model malaria outbreak in three districts (Barmer, Bikaner, and Jodhpur) of Rajasthan in the Western India. We have used different meteorological variables (i.e., relative humidity, temperature, and rainfall) as input features to predict malaria. We have also considered the combined impact of these variables through a linear data fusion. We then extract the uncorrelated information from the feature set by applying Probabilistic Principal Component Analysis (P2CA). We trained the fully connected feed-forward Artificial Neural Network (ANN) by optimising its hyperparameters iteratively through a bio-inspired optimisation algorithm (Particle Swarm Optimisation). We train and evaluate the performance of this algorithm using monthly meteorological variables from 2009 - 2012. This accurately predicts the malaria cases with the coefficient of correlation (R = 0.99), and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE = 1.76). Finally, we compare our model with different benchmark algorithms (Generalised Regression Neural Network (GRNN), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Random Forest, and Radial Basis Neural Networks (RBNN)) in terms of accuracy. We observed the performance of hybrid machine learning model relatively high. This study can be used as an early warning intelligent system to predict the malaria outbreaks solely from meteorological data.