Epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Guangdong province,2004-2013

Objective To analyze epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Guangdong province in recent ten years and to provide evidences for the eradication of malaria in Guangdong province.Methods Data on malaria cases in Guangdong province during the period of 2004 to 2013 were collected through the Disease Reporting Information System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the malaria cases reported.Results A total of 1 253 malaria cases were reported from 2004 to 2013 in the province, with an annual mean incidence of 0.1351 per 100 thousands.There were cases reported in 21 cities and 106 counties(districts)in the province and a majority part of the cases(653, 52.11%)were reported in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan city.The cases were reported every month during the period, without obvious seasonal peak.The ratio of male to female was 3.76:1(χ²=35.586, P<0.05).The age of the cases distributed mainly around the ages of 20-50 years(907, 72.39%).The three major occupations of the cases were worker, farmer, and migrant worker(623, 49.72%).Among the reported cases, 413 were imported cases with initial incidence in Africa(323, 78.21%)and other Asian countries(61, 14.77%)from 2011 to 2013.Conclusion The malaria epidemic in Guangdong province is relatively stable during 2004-2013.But the diagnosis and treatment of imported malaria cases will be the focus for malaria prevention and control.