Once malaria is eliminated, more attention should be paid to imported malaria: Data from five years of surveillance in the City of Yiwu in eastern China.

ABSTRACT

This study reviewed and analyzed data on malaria cases in Yiwu from 2012 to 2016 via a webbased system for managing and reporting information on infectious diseases. A total of 161 cases were diagnosed (77.02% due to Plasmodium falciparum, 18.01% due to P. vivax, 4.35% due to P. ovale, and 0.62% due to P. malariae). One case was imported from Yunnan Province in China and the others were imported from overseas. The ratio of male to female patients was 7.471. The average age was 36.34 years (SD 9.63). Most cases (87.58%) were imported from 1 of 30 countries in Africa. As malaria is gradually being eliminated in China, the main task at this stage has transitioned to the prevention and control of cases of imported malaria. Particular attention should be paid to malaria cases from Africa.