Malaria cases in Switzerland from 2005 to 2015 and recent rise of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria.

Malaria cases in Switzerland from 2005 to 2015 and recent rise of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria. Swiss Med Wkly. 2017 Oct 24;147:w14510 Authors: Eperon G, Durieux-Paillard S, Mauris A, Chappuis F, Gysin N Abstract Reporting cases of malaria to the Federal Office of Public Health has been mandatory in Switzerland since 1974. We analysed notifications of imported confirmed malaria cases between 2005 and 2015 in Switzerland or Liechtenstein. Data for previously visited countries, nationality and reason for travelling were analysed. In contrast with the impressive drop of malaria cases reported worldwide since 2000, we found that the number of malaria cases imported yearly in Switzerland doubled in 2014 and 2015 compared to the average for the preceding decade. Since 2014, Plasmodium vivax infection represented 36% of all diagnosed malaria cases in Switzerland, compared to 11% in the decade leading to 2013. Most of the vivax malaria patients originated from the Horn of Africa, especially from Eritrea. This rise in cases was a consequence not only of an increase in the number of Eritrean refugees, but also their vivax malaria incidence rate, which jumped from 1-3‰ previously to 12‰ in 2014. This is a trend that is not matched by national statistics in Eritrea. An unreported increased incidence in the country of origin (Eritrea) might be the cause of the rise of Pv cases imported into Switzerland, but infections are also likely to ...
Source: Swiss Medical Weekly - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Swiss Med Wkly Source Type: research