Epidemiology of Malaria in the State of Qatar, 2008-2015

Abstract

Background and ObjectivesImported malaria poses a serious public health problem in Qatar because its population is “naïve” to such infection; where local transmission might lead to serious, life-threatening infection and might even trigger epidemics.MethodsThis study is a retrospective review of the imported malaria cases in Qatar reported by the malaria surveillance program at the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), during the period between January 2008 and December 2015. All cases were imported and underwent parasitological confirmation through microscopy.ResultsA total of 4092 malaria cases were reported during 2008–2015 in Qatar. The demographic features of the imported cases show that the majority of cases were males (93%), non-Qatari (99.6%), and aged 15 to 44 years (82.1%). Moreover, P. vivax was found to be the main etiologic agent accounting for more than three-quarters (78.7%) of the imported cases. In addition, almost a third (33.1%) of the cases were reported during the months of July, August, and September.ConclusionsImported malaria in Qatar has witnessed an increase during the past seven years, despite a long period of constant reduction; where the people most affected were adult male migrants from endemic countries. Many challenges need to be overcome to prevent the reintroduction of malaria into the country.

Changing Patterns in Epidemiology of Malaria Between 2006 and 2018 in the South of Fars Province, Southern Iran: The Fall and Rise of Malaria

“…According to the World Malaria Report in 2018, about 219 million malaria cases occur annually, of which 435,000 deaths are reported [ 9 ]. Most of the deaths were related to young children and other high-risk groups, including pregnant women, insecure travelers, refugees, displaced persons, and workers who had entered endemic areas [ 10 ]. Malaria-related deaths and illnesses have a significant impact on the economy of developing countries.…”

Molecular surveillance of putative drug resistance markers of antifolate and artemisinin among importedPlasmodium falciparumin Qatar

“…The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria infection, 219 million clinical cases and 435,000 deaths globally in 2017 [1]. Qatar has been free from local malaria transmission since 1970 [2], however, an influx of migrant workers from malaria-endemic countries, representing a major threat for re-introduction of local drug resistance malaria transmission [3][4][5][6]. In addition to the flow of imported cases, the receptivity and risk of malaria reintroduction are evident by the presence of the mosquito vectors, Anopheles stephensi and An.…”

“…Monitoring drug resistance and pattern of mutations is essential for early detection and subsequent preventions of the spread of drug resistance. Hence, there is a need for monitoring antimalarial drug resistance in Qatar for prompt management of imported P. falciparum malaria, as majority of immigrant workers come from malaria-endemic countries, namely India, Pakistan and Sudan [3,4,6]. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of point mutations involved in antimalarial resistance genes Pfdhfr, Pfdhps (SP) and PfATPase6, K13 (ART) among imported P. falciparum isolates in Qatar.…”

Influx of diverse, drug resistant and transmissible Plasmodium falciparum into a malaria-free setting in Qatar

“…Over the past two decades there has been an increase in the flow of migrant workers to Qatar in particular. This migratory trend has been associated with a positive trend in reported cases of imported malaria [7,9,10]. In addition to an increase in imported malaria, the receptivity and risk of malaria reintroduction is evident by the continued presence of the mosquito vectors Anopheles stephensi and An.…”