Epidemiological Situation of Malaria in Rakhine State, Myanmar during 2000-2014

Abstract

Rakhine State is the state with highest number of malaria cases in Myanmar. The objective of the study was to investigate the malaria situation in Rakhine State during 2000-2014. Data on malaria monthly reports from all townships during 2000-2014 were reviewed and analyzed. The malaria morbidity rate in Rakhine State was observed to decrease from 40.0 per 1,000 population in 2000 to 13.5 per 1,000 in 2014. Marked reduction in mortality and case-fatality rates were also observed. Although the morbidity and mortality rates were reduced in all townships, some townships had maintained high malaria positivity rate and low annual blood examination rate. Ten percent of cases in under 5-year children indicated the endemicity and local transmission of malaria. Malaria cases treated by community volunteers were increased from 1.7% in 2011 to 27.9% in 2014. The majority of malaria cases were caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Reduction in malaria morbidity and mortality might be due to early detection and treatment of cases. Efforts to detect and treat cases earlier should be a high priority in townships with high malaria positive rate and low annual blood examination rate in order to reduce the burden of malaria infection in Myanmar.