Myanmar Border Research Articles

The BRI as an Iterative Project: Influencing the Politics of Conflict-Affected States and Being Shaped by the Risks of Fragile Settings

ABSTRACT This article examines the impact of the BRI on the peace processes of conflict-affected states (CAS) bordering China, namely Nepal and Myanmar. It underscores the need to assess the impact of the BRI as an iterative process: where the BRI impacts the political economy of host CAS; but also how contextual specificities of the CAS, undertaking a peace process, are reshaping the delivery of the BRI. Here, the article first outlines that the BRI is not only physically transforming host CAS through infrastructure and connectivity but also influencing the core agenda of the peace processes, notably federalism, through the uneven distribution of benefits of infrastructural development. Second, the challenges of working in the complex settings of CAS, with fragmented state authority, and political uncertainty have also brought significant changes in the delivery of the BRI and Chinese diplomacy broadly.

Finding a way forward with the community: qualitative inquiry in the generalized HIV epidemic in Mizoram, India.

Mizoram, the northeastern State of India bordering Myanmar, is presently witnessing a burgeoning generalized HIV epidemic along with the highest State-level HIV prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs, 24.7%) and people who inject drugs (PWID,19.8%) in the country. The present study was conducted against such background to understand the current situation of HIV prevention and care services in Mizoram, and capture community voices as well as concerns so that the way forward could be informed appropriately. The study period was October through December 2020 (in the midst of COVID-restrictions) in the districts of Aizawl, Mamit, Kolasib, Lunglei, and Champhai where HIV prevalence crossed 1% among ante-natal clinic (ANC) attending women. Contrastingly, the national average HIV prevalence among ANC attendees is 0.24%, which formed the basis for selecting the aforementioned five high burden districts for this current inquiry. In-depth-interviews were conducted with community members and youth leaders, vulnerable and general population groups as well as HIV-program officials. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated and later coded for analysis following thematic approach. The emerging issues were grouped in three thematic layers; (1) HIV vulnerability, (2) challenges pertaining to prevention and care services, and (3) program elements and future roadmap. Discrimination at the community level, unfriendly behavior of some of the HIV-service staff, occasional interruption in supplies of anti-retroviral treatment and sterile syringes and needles were voiced as deterrents to accessing HIV prevention and care services by the participants. Community engagement, based on restorative approach rather than retribution and ensuring enhanced performance of the district AIDS program control units emerged as necessary programmatic elements. This inquiry highlighted macro-social and structural forces contributing to stigma and discrimination toward people at risk of HIV. It is urgent that HIV-services are re-aligned through de-centralized district level innovations and creation of safer spaces at the physical, societal and familial level. These, even during the time of stress such as a pandemic, would help health services to remain resilient. HIV outreach, sensitization of the community leaders and health-care professionals through strategic communication and ownership of the communities in these endeavors appeared paramount.

Hundi payment mechanism on the border trade between Myanmar and Northern Thailand: what you do not know about?

PurposeThis study aims to convey the understanding of the ecosystem – how “hundi” works on the border trade between Myanmar and northern Thailand, which is an informal transfer system and is widely used as an alternative banking system. Even though the role of hundi is unable to declare the sources of money under the standard settlement of formal banking system, a failure to operate of its official mechanism are carrying using hundi, as a financial platform across the border between Thailand and Myanmar. This study surveys the best practice mechanism for the regional and international cooperation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on relevant literature, open-source reporting, and interviews with more than 30 interviewees on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Interviewees includes border-trader, money changer, money transfer operators, business leaders, hundi operators, immigrant labors, government officials and commercial banking staffs.FindingsThis study provides a unique insight of hundi system, which work as the alternative mode of formal banking. It is an informal fund transfer payment platform used on the border between Thailand and Myanmar in the past five decades. It insists that hundi plays a significant role in both substitution and complementary on the trade and payment across the border of Myanmar–Thailand. Even though confronting with the barriers of financing of terrorism (anti money laundering AML/combating the financing of terrorism CFT) risk, the competition with the expanding and modernizing formal banking sector, and the introduction of Fintech and mobile money services. In the short term, these are unlikely to eliminate the hundi system completely, but may instead push hundi operators towards adopting these networks and technologies in their own operations.Social implicationsThis paper will be a useful source for academics, development professionals, policymakers, law enforcement agencies and business actors who are seeking to understand Myanmar’s informal payment system, hundi.Originality/valueThis is the latest work for border trade payment or trade financing role of hundi which has hidden under the informal market of the border for several decades. It has few research of hundi on border trade and payment, particularly after the military coup in 2021 which made hundi return to be on the spotlight and simultaneous mechanism of border trade and payment ecosystem of Myanmar. This paper will be a useful source for academics, development professionals, policymakers, law enforcement agencies and business actors who are eager to understand Myanmar’s informal payment system, hundi, especially during the hardship.

Protecting the Human Rights of Refugees in Camps in Thailand: The Complementary Role of International Law on Indigenous Peoples

This paper investigates whether and how International Law on Indigenous Peoples (ILIP) can complement protections granted under International Refugee Law (IRL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) to refugees in camps in Thailand. Presently, there are over 90,000 refugees from Myanmar in Thailand, confined to nine camps along the Thailand–Myanmar border. These refugees belong to different ethnic minority groups, but the vast majority are Karen—Indigenous Peoples from the Thailand–Myanmar border regions. They have fled to Thailand due to persecution by Myanmar authorities and segments of the Myanmar population. To date, Thailand has refused to become a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. The country has failed to develop an asylum system and its laws continue to regard refugees as ‘illegal migrants’. These refugees have been surviving in conditions of profound rightlessness. I posit that ILIP has a critical role to play in addressing the protection gaps and limitations in IRL and IHRL. In particular, the ILIP system of collective rights is vital in recognising the specific needs of refugees who are indigenous peoples. ILIP therefore provides a potent tool to make IRL and IHRL more responsive to the protection needs of indigenous refugees.

To Utilize Structural Equation Modelling to Investigate the Impact of Cross-border Tourism on Regional Cooperation: The Mediating Effect of Community Support

Tourism plays an important role in encouraging cooperation and peace between the partitioned countries. The current study aims to investigate the influence of cross-border tourism on bilateral trade and cooperation between India and Myanmar. Further, the paper identifies the role of community support as a mediator between exogenous and endogenous variables. An onsite questionnaire is distributed among the residents of Indian border areas close to the neighboring border of Myanmar. The SEM is employed to reject the null hypotheses and test the proposed model empirically. The findings reveal that all the proposed hypotheses are supported. The cross-border cooperation is positively influenced by cross-border tourism development and trade between India and Myanmar. Moreover, community support mediates the relationship between cross-border tourism, bilateral trade, and cooperation. An important consideration from this paper is that tourism supported by border communities can act as a catalyst for promoting cooperation among hostile countries. India and Myanmar being close neighbors, have huge scope to support each other through different cross-border programs, projects, and bilateral trade. The study provides valuable insights for both countries to adopt tourism initiatives as a tool to ameliorate their relationships and develop the economic conditions of border communities.

Genetic Diversity of Plasmodium vivax Field Isolates from the Thai–Myanmar Border during the Period of 2006–2016

High levels of genetic variants of Plasmodium vivax have previously been reported in Thailand. Circumsporozoite surface protein (CSP), merozoite surface protein (MSP), and microsatellite markers were used to determine the genetic polymorphisms of P. vivax. This study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of P. vivax populations at the Thai-Myanmar border by genotyping the PvCSP, PvMSP-3α, and PvMSP-3β genes. Four hundred and forty P. vivax clinical isolates were collected from the Mae Sot and Sai Yok districts from 2006-2007 and 2014-2016. Polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to investigate the genetic polymorphisms of the target genes. Based on PCR band size variations, 14 different PvCSP alleles were identified: eight for VK210 and six for VK247. The VK210 genotype was the dominant variant during both sample collection periods. Based on PCR genotyping, three distinct types (A, B, and C) for both PvMSP-3α and PvMSP-3β were observed. Following RFLP, 28 and 14 allelic variants of PvMSP-3α and 36 and 20 allelic variants of PvMSP-3β with varying frequencies were identified during the first and second periods, respectively. High genetic variants of PvMSP-3 and PvCSP were found in the study area. PvMSP-3β exhibited a higher level of genetic diversity and multiple-genotype infection versus PvMSP-3α.

Two New Species of Leptobrachella from Northern Thailand (Amphibia, Anura, Megophryidae)

Phylogenetic analyses using mtDNA gene sequences revealed the presence of two genetic clades in the genus Leptobrachella (former Leptolalax) from northern Thailand. One formed a clade including L. ventripunctata and L. aerea, while another included L. bourrreti and L. laoi. The first clade contained L. cf. minima from Doi Suthep, while the second clade contained L. murphyi and two undescribed species, one from Doi Inthanon, at a high altitude of 2,300 m asl, and another from Mae Hong Son, at Myanmar border. These form a clade, that is sister to L. murphyi. Morphologically, the first species is generally similar to L. murphyi, while the second species resembles L. cf. minima. However, they are clearly distinguished from those described species by great genetic differences, and we describe them as L. korifi sp. nov. and L. sinorensis sp. nov., respectively.

A descriptive study on local street vendors: a case study in dimapur district nagaland

The term “street vendor” refers to those who are unable to get regular jobs in the formal sector on account of their low level of education and skills. Street vending is an important activity for the urban areas. The study focuses on the street vending of Nagaland State. Nagaland is a mountainous state in northeast India, bordering Myanmar, and it is home to diverse indigenous tribes. It occupies about 70 percent of the total area under cultivation and constitutes about 75 percent of the total food production in the state. In Nagaland majority of the street vendors are women, belonging to diverse tribes and sell a variety of products ranging from vegetables to meat, fast food, handicraft, second-hand clothing, etc., to urban consumers. The study population in Nagaland is around 22.8 lakhs and around 30,000, people are street vendors. Street vending gives platform to earn income to the illiterate, low-class, and unemployed to sustain their life.

Impacts of biomass burning and photochemical processing on the light absorption of brown carbon in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract. Brown carbon (BrC) in the atmosphere can greatly influence aerosol's radiative forcing over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) because it has the non-negligible capacity of light absorption compared to black carbon (BC); however, our understanding of optical properties, sources, and atmospheric processes of BrC in this region remains limited. In this study, a multiple-wavelength Aethalometer coupled with a quadrupole aerosol chemical speciation monitor was deployed to investigate the highly time resolved BrC in the submicron aerosol at the southeastern edge of the TP during the pre-monsoon season. The results showed that BrC made substantial contributions (20.0 %–40.2 %) to the light absorption of submicron aerosol from 370 to 660 nm. Organic aerosol (OA), an alternative to BrC, was split into a biomass burning OA (BBOA) with aging processes and a photochemical-oxidation-processed oxygenated OA (po-OOA) by a hybrid environmental receptor model analysis. Combined with the light absorption coefficient of BrC (babs-BrC), the source-specific mass absorption cross sections of BBOA (0.61–2.78 m2 g−1) and po-OOA (0.30–1.43 m2 g−1) at 370–660 nm were retrieved. On average, babs-BrC from po-OOA (1.3–6.0 Mm−1) was comparable to that from BBOA (1.3–6.0 Mm−1) at all wavelengths. The concentration-weighted trajectory analysis showed that the most important potential source regions for babs-BrC values from BBOA and po-OOA were located in northern Myanmar and along the China–Myanmar border, indicating the cross-border transport of BrC from Southeast Asia. A “simple forcing efficiency” evaluation further illustrated the importance of the BrC radiative effect with the high fractional radiative forcing by two OAs relative to BC (48.8 ± 15.5 %). This study highlights a significant influence of BrC of biomass burning origin and secondary formation on climate change over the TP region during the pre-monsoon season.

Psychiatrists Explore Their Inner Hemingway

Psychiatrists Explore Their Inner Hemingway

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium vivax populations from the China–Myanmar border identified by genotyping merozoite surface protein markers

BackgroundParasite diversity and population structure influence malaria control measures. Malaria transmission at international borders affects indigenous residents and migrants, defying management efforts and resulting in malaria re-introduction. Here we aimed to determine the extent and distribution of genetic variations in Plasmodium vivax populations and the complexity of infections along the China–Myanmar border.MethodsWe collected clinical P. vivax samples from local and migrant malaria patients from Laiza and Myitsone, Kachin State, Myanmar, respectively. We characterized the polymorphisms in two P. vivax merozoite surface protein markers, Pvmsp-3α and Pvmsp-3β, by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) analysis. We sought to determine whether these genetic markers could differentiate these two neighboring parasite populations.ResultsPCR revealed three major size variants for Pvmsp-3α and four for Pvmsp-3β among the 370 and 378 samples, respectively. PCR–RFLP resolved 26 fragment-size alleles by digesting Pvmsp-3α with Alu I and Hha I and 28 alleles by digesting Pvmsp-3β with Pst I. PCR–RFLP analysis of Pvmsp-3α found that infections in migrant laborers from Myitsone bore more alleles than did infections in residents of Laiza, while such difference was not evident from genotyping Pvmsp-3β. Infections originating from these two places contained distinct but overlapping subpopulations of P. vivax. Infections from Myitsone had a higher multiplicity of infection as judged by the size of the Pvmsp-3α amplicons and alleles after Alu I/Hha I digestion.ConclusionsMigrant laborers from Myitsone and indigenous residents from Laiza harbored overlapping but genetically distinct P. vivax parasite populations. The results suggested a more diverse P. vivax population in Myitsone than in the border town of Laiza. PCR–RFLP of Pvmsp-3α offers a convenient method to determine the complexity of P. vivax infections and differentiate parasite populations.

COVID lockdown and malaria incidence: A note from the tropical endemic area

Dear Editor, Malaria is an important mosquito-borne infection. The pathogenic Plasmodium parasite is the causative agent of malaria and it is presently seen at many tropical countries around the world. In tropical Asia, the disease is highly prevalent and there is an extremely high prevalence of drug-resistant malaria along Myanmar–Thailand border area.[1] Children are an important group affected by malaria.[1] At the border area, the school children are the main group that gets malaria and it can affect school performance, therefore, many school-based malaria control programs have been implemented.[2] Due to the present emerging COVID-19 crisis, the impact on malaria control is an interesting issue.[3] The interruption of the malaria control program during the COVID-19 pandemic is possible.[4] Here, the author would like to share the local data from the area that there is a co-endemicity between COVID-19 and malaria in Indochina. This area is the local rural province locating at Thailand–Myanmar border. The most updated data on June 2020 showed that there are already 9 COVID-19 cases and 265 malaria cases in this remote forestry area in 2020. All of the pediatric patients are school students and the primary presentation of all cases is high fever. In the country, COVID-19 started in January 2020 and the lockdown started in March 2020. The data on the incidence of COVID-19 and malaria in this area before and after the COVID-19 lockdown are presented in Table 1. Based on this data, the COVID-19 lockdown, that includes school closure, transportation blockage, and international border closure, can effectively reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in this malaria-endemic area. However, after the lockdown, the incidence of malaria significantly increases.Table 1: The incidence of COVID-19 and malariaIn fact, although the study area is a forestry area with high malaria prevalence, the problem of COVID-19 can still be seen. In fact, the rural forestry area does not guarantee for absence of COVID -19 cases and disease might be imported by outside.[5] The blockage of transportation and school closure seems to effectively control COVID-19. However, the lockdown does not have a positive control effect on malaria. Indeed, the difficulty in malaria control due to the COVID-19 lockdown is proposed and the present observation is good clinical evidence to support that hypothesis.[4] Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.

Assessing multilingual teacher competencies

There are 117 living languages in Myanmar (Lewis et al., 2016). In a country of 53 million people, over 23 million are fluent in one of the seven main indigenous language clusters: Shan, Mon, Rakhine (Rohingya), Chin, Kachin, Karenni (Kayah), and Karen (Kayin) (World Bank, 2018). Even during the January 2011 – January 2021 period under a democratically elected civilian government, the official language of oral and written instruction in all government schools remained rigidly singular. In many of Myanmar’s ethnolinguistic minority communities, the national language is only first encountered in schools and rarely used at home. An assessment of multilingual education (MLE) teacher competencies was used to assess the specific proficiencies needed to effectively promote multilingual education with 16 teachers working in areas under ethnic administration in southeastern Myanmar, as well as one temporary shelter on the Thai–Myanmar border, with the goal of identifying existing abilities and areas for growth. Overall, 94% of observed ethnic and refugee teachers demonstrated meeting minimum MLE competency requirements to support children to build a strong bridge from their mother tongue to their L2 (Burmese or English, depending on the context). The study was conducted together with the Karen Education and Cultural Department (KECD), Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), the Karen Teacher Working Group (KTWG), the Mon National Education Committee (MNEC), Rural Indigenous Sustainable Education (RISE), and the Karen Refugee Committee–Education Entity (KRC–EE) and World Education Thailand and Myanmar.

Different In Vitro Drug Susceptibility Profile of Plasmodium falciparum Isolates from Two Adjacent Areas of Northeast Myanmar and Molecular Markers for Drug Resistance.

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) is the epicenter of antimalarial drug resistance. We determined in vitro susceptibilities to 11 drugs of culture-adapted Plasmodium falciparum isolates from adjacent areas (Laiza and Muse) along the China−Myanmar border. Parasites from this region were highly resistant to chloroquine and pyrimethamine but relatively sensitive to other antimalarial drugs. Consistently, the Dd2-like pfcrt mutations were fixed or almost fixed in both parasite populations, and new mutations mediating piperaquine resistance were not identified. Similarly, several mutations related to pfdhfr and pfdhps were also highly prevalent. Despite their geographical proximity, malaria parasites from Laiza showed significantly higher in vitro resistance to artemisinin derivatives, naphthoquine, pyronaridine, lumefantrine, and pyrimethamine than parasites from Muse. Likewise, the pfdhfr N51I, pfdhps A581G, pfmrp1 H785N, and pfk13 F446I mutations were significantly more frequent in Laiza than in Muse (p < 0.05). For the pfmdr1 mutations, Y184F was found only in Laiza (70%), whereas F1226Y was identified only in Muse (31.8%). Parasite isolates from Laiza showed a median RSA value of 5.0%, significantly higher than the 2.4% in Muse. Altogether, P. falciparum parasite populations from neighboring regions in the GMS may diverge substantially in their resistance to several antimalarial drugs. This information about different parasite populations will guide antimalarial treatment policies to effectively manage drug resistance during malaria elimination.

Camera trapping records confirm the presence of the elusive Spotted Linsang Prionodon pardicolor (Mammalia: Carnivora: Prionodontidae) in Murlen National Park (Mizoram, India)

The Spotted Linsang is an elusive and infrequently recorded small carnivore believed to be distributed widely throughout southern-southeastern Asia. Here, we present the first confirmation of this species from Murlen National Park, Mizoram, a protected area with tracts of subtropical evergreen forest less than 30 km from the western Myanmar border. These records are also the first to confirm the occurrence of the species in the southern portion of northeastern India. Although we could distinguish several individuals despite low camera-trap sampling effort, this population may be threatened by opportunistic and intentional hunting using projectiles and snares meant to kill small game for wildmeat.

Insecticide Susceptibility Status of Anopheles and Aedes Mosquitoes in Malaria and Dengue Endemic Areas, Thai–Myanmar Border

The occurrence and spread of insecticide resistance has had a negative effect on the efficacy of insecticide-based tools and is distributed worldwide, including the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). This study aims to determine the insecticide susceptibility of malaria and dengue vectors in malaria and dengue hotspots on the Thai-Myanmar border. Mosquito larvae and pupae were obtained from water sources from December 2019 to April 2020 in Tha Song Yang District, Tak province, western Thailand. WHO bioassay susceptibility tests were conducted with three classes of insecticides to evaluate the knockdown and mortality rates of Anopheles and Aedes aegypti female adults. V1016G and F1534C kdr mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel of Ae. aegypti were identified using a multiplex PCR. A total of 5764 female mosquitoes were bioassayed in this study, including Anopheles spp. (92.63%) and F1 Ae. aegypti (7.37%). After 24 h of observation, An. minimus s.l. (n = 3885) and An. maculatus s.l. (n = 1138) in Suan Oi (SO) and Tala Oka (TO) were susceptible to pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates (except bendiocarb) with 98-100% mortality (MR). Resistance to bendiocarb was detected with a mortality rate of 88.80%, 88.77%, and 89.92% for An. minimus s.l. (n = 125, 125) and An. maculatus s.l. (n = 66), respectively. The first generation of Ae. aegypti adult females were suspected of resistance to deltamethrin (n = 225, MR = 96.89%) and confirmed resistance to permethrin (n = 200, MR = 20.00%). V1016G and F1534C mutations were detected in three genotypes, heterozygote and homozygote forms. The correlation between the kdr alleles and deltamethrin resistance was significant. In conclusion, bendiocarb resistance was found in primary malaria vectors, An. minimus s.l. and An. maculatus s.l. F1 Ae. aegypti population was pyrethroids-resistant, associated with kdr alleles. Therefore, molecular analysis should be conducted to gain insights into the mechanism of insecticide resistance. Routine malaria vector control programmes, such as fogging implementation in hotspot villages to induce Aedes resistance available in peri-domestic sites, are questionable.

Molecular typing of dengue virus in Mizoram, Northeast India.

Dengue is an emerging vector-borne public health threat and characterization at the molecular level is important for proper management of the disease. The aim of the study is to examine the diversity of the dengue viral serotypes from a hilly mountainous region of Northeast India. Thirty-six blood samples that were positive for dengue virus IgM antibodies identified by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method were collected and quantified for the IL6 gene expression by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). All the patients had dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF); 12 samples had a monotypic infection and 14 samples had dual infection with various dengue virus (DENV) serotypes; one sample had triple infection with DENV-1, DENV-2, and DENV-3. This study identified DENV-1 as the major serotype in the state of Mizoram and it is the first report on the molecular typing of the dengue virus from the hilly mountainous state located in the Indo-Burma region bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Genetic diversity in the transmission-blocking vaccine candidate Plasmodium vivax gametocyte protein Pvs230 from the China–Myanmar border area and central Myanmar

BackgroundSexual stage surface antigens are potential targets of transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs). The gametocyte and gamete surface antigen P230, a leading TBV candidate, is critical for red blood cell binding during exflagellation and subsequent oocyst development. Here, the genetic diversity of Pvs230 was studied in Plasmodium vivax parasite isolates from the China–Myanmar border (CMB) and central Myanmar.MethodsPlasmodium vivax isolates were collected in clinics from malaria-endemic areas of the CMB (143 samples) and Myanmar (23 samples). The interspecies variable part (IVP, nucleotides 1–807) and interspecies conserved part (ICP, 808–2862) of Pvs230 were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Molecular evolution studies were conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity, signature of selection, population differentiation, haplotype network, and population structure of the study parasite populations and publicly available Pvs230 sequences from six global P. vivax populations.ResultsLimited genetic diversity was observed for the CMB (π = 0.002) and Myanmar (π = 0.001) isolates. Most amino acid substitutions were located in the IVP and cysteine-rich domain of Pvs230. Evidence of positive selection was observed for IVP and purifying selection for ICP. Codon-based tests identified specific codons under natural selection in both IVP and ICP. The fixation index (FST) showed low genetic differentiation between East and Southeast Asian populations, with FST ranging from 0.018 to 0.119. The highest FST value (FST = 0.503) was detected between the Turkey and Papua New Guinea populations. A total of 92 haplotypes were identified in global isolates, with the major haplotypes 2 and 9 being the most abundant and circulating in East and Southeast Asia populations. Several detected non-synonymous substitutions were mapped in the predicted structure and B-cell epitopes of Pvs230.ConclusionsWe detected low levels of genetic diversity of Pvs230 in global P. vivax populations. Geographically specific haplotypes were identified for Pvs230. Some mutations are located within a potential B-cell epitope region and need to be considered in future TBV designs.Graphical

PRICE TRANSMISSION OF MELONS (CUCUMIS MELO AND CITRULLUS LANATUS) IN MYANMAR – CHINA BORDER TRADE

Border trade is the main export channel for agricultural products from Myanmar (formerly Burma). With an increasing quantity and value of exports during the last few decades, melons have become one of the major crops in the national export strategy of Myanmar. In this paper, the word “melons” is used to represent both watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and muskmelon (Cucumis melo) cultivars. No previous research exists on price transmission between these countries, especially for the horticultural produce market. This study aims to measure the magnitude and speed of spatial price adjustment in melons exported from Myanmar to China. Price transmission in the melon export market in Myanmar is analyzed by studying the lead-lag relationship among prices in the border market in Myanmar and the selected wholesale markets in Beijing, China, using a vector autoregressive model (VAR). Prices are transmitted quickly from Myanmar to the selected wholesale markets in Beijing, China. The wholesale market price in Beijing, China lags only one day behind the Myanmar price. In the Myanmar border market, the melon price is affected only by its own lagged price. The adjustment of melon prices in one day suggests that market information is getting passed up the market channel, and there does not appear to be a need for a policy to improve market efficiency.

Risk factors associated with malaria infection along China–Myanmar border: a case–control study

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) has certificated China malaria free, but imported malaria is a continuous challenge in preventing reintroduction of malaria in the border area of China. Understanding risk factors of malaria along China–Myanmar border is benefit for preventing reintroduction of malaria in China and achieving the WHO’s malaria elimination goal in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).MethodsThis is a case–control study with one malaria case matched to two controls, in which cases were microscopy-confirmed malaria patients and controls were feverish people with microscopy-excluded malaria. A matched logistic regression analysis (LRA) was used to identify risk factors associated with malaria infection.ResultsFrom May 2016 through October 2017, the study recruited 223 malaria cases (152 in China and 71 in Myanmar) and 446 controls (304 in China and 142 in Myanmar). All the 152 cases recruited in China were imported malaria. Independent factors associated with malaria infection were overnight out of home in one month prior to attendance of health facilities (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] 13.37, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.32–28.28, P < 0.0001), staying overnight in rural lowland and foothill (AOR 2.73, 95% CI: 1.45–5.14, P = 0.0019), staying overnight at altitude < 500 m (AOR 5.66, 95% CI: 3.01–10.71, P < 0.0001) and streamlets ≤ 100 m (AOR9.98, 95% CI: 4.96–20.09, P < 0.0001) in the border areas of Myanmar; and people lacking of knowledge of malaria transmission (AOR 2.17, 95% CI: 1.42–3.32, P = 0.0004).ConclusionsMalaria transmission is highly focalized in lowland and foothill in the border areas of Myanmar. The risk factors associated with malaria infection are overnight staying out of home, at low altitude areas, proximity to streamlets and lack of knowledge of malaria transmission. To prevent reintroduction of malaria transmission in China and achieve the WHO goal of malaria elimination in the GMS, cross-border collaboration is continuously necessary, and health education is sorely needed for people in China to maintain their malaria knowledge and vigilance, and in Myanmar to improve their ability of personal protection.