Cross-country collaboration for malaria elimination

What is it about?

Malaria has remained a greatest health and socioeconomic burden in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. According to World Health Organization, approximately, 429,000 deaths with 212 million cases were reported from malaria in the world. To highlight that the cross-country collaboration to control malaria is needed, we searched the prevalence (%) of Plasmodium species in bordering countries of India.

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Why is it important?

Our epidemiological and clinical study of bordering region in Pakistan showed that Plasmodium vivax was the most prevalent species in the area especially alongside regions bordering the neighboring Afghanistan, exhibiting same genetic background. According to World Health Organization, the prevalence of P. vivax in Afghanistan is the highest (95%) among all the bordering countries of India. The prevalence of P. vivax in the other bordering countries of India is highest in Pakistan (81%), China (79%), Nepal (78%), and Bhutan while its prevalence in Myanmar and Bangladesh is 34% and 7% respectively. However, Plasmodium falciparum is predominant in Bangladesh (93%) followed by Myanmar (66%), Bhutan (40%), Nepal (22%), Pakistan (19%), China (11%), and Afghanistan (5%). Perspective These results suggest that the high prevalence of P. falciparum in Bangladesh and Myanmar is likely to contribute to its prevalence (67%) in the northeast region of India (World Health Organization, 2016b). In addition, the high prevalence of P. vivax in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Bhutan is also likely to contribute to its incidence in the west and north regions of India. Therefore, the cross-country collaboration to control malaria is urgently needed. In addition, in all seven bordering countries, extensive drug resistance has been emerged in a high proportion. Therefore, further studies are needed to identify trustworthy gene(s) for chloroquine and mefloquine resistance in P. vivax. Furthermore, we emphasize that insect avoidance is critical in children and it can prevent the malaria acquisition in them. Rapid diagnosis and treatment of malaria infection are very useful to limit morbidity and mortality caused by it. Cross-border collaboration and global and regional efforts to combat malaria are very critical to achieve the goals of its elimination in the region.

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