Review of the 2018 World Malaria Control

Shin Hyun-Il, Lee Sang-Eun, Cho Shin-Hyeong
Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases, Center for Laboratory Control of Infectious Diseases, KCDC

According to the 2018 World Malaria Report by World Health Organization, among 5 species of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax are important and critical in public health. P. falciparum is most prevalent in the African continent and a major cause of deaths by malaria. P. vivax has a wider geographical distribution than P. falciparum. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that the number of infected cases and deaths of malaria increased to 219 million and 435,000, respectively. Regionally, the WHO estimated that most cases in 2017 occurred in the African Region (92%), followed by the South-East Asian Region (5%) and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (2%). Similarly, the WHO estimated that most deaths (93%) in 2017 were reported in the African Region, followed by the South-East Asian Region (5%) and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (2%). Many countries are moving forward to elimination. The number of countries with less than 10,000 malaria cases increased from 37 in 2010 to 46 in 2016. In April 2016, the WHO confirmed that 21 countries including the Republic of Korea have potential for malaria elimination by 2020 (E-2020). The Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases in the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has been continuously cooperating with international and national agencies to control or eliminate for malaria.

Keywords: Malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, World Health Organization, Malaria vivax, Malaria falciparum, Cause of Death