Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries
Malaria is the most common vector-borne parasitic infection causing significant human morbidity and mortality in nearly 90 tropical/sub-tropical countries worldwide. Significant differences exist in the incidence of malaria cases, dominant <i>Plasmodium</i> species, drug-resistant strain...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/7/1431 |
| _version_ | 1797526584586928128 |
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| author | Jamshaid Iqbal Suhail Ahmad Ali Sher Mohammad Al-Awadhi |
| author_facet | Jamshaid Iqbal Suhail Ahmad Ali Sher Mohammad Al-Awadhi |
| author_sort | Jamshaid Iqbal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Malaria is the most common vector-borne parasitic infection causing significant human morbidity and mortality in nearly 90 tropical/sub-tropical countries worldwide. Significant differences exist in the incidence of malaria cases, dominant <i>Plasmodium</i> species, drug-resistant strains and mortality rates in different countries. Six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, UAE) in the Middle East region with similar climates, population demographics and economic prosperity are aiming to achieve malaria elimination. In this narrative review, all studies indexed in PubMed describing epidemiological characteristics of indigenous and imported malaria cases, vector control status and how malaria infections can be controlled to achieve malaria elimination in GCC countries were reviewed and discussed. These studies have shown that indigenous malaria cases are absent in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE and have progressively declined in Oman and Saudi Arabia. However, imported malaria cases continue to occur as GCC countries have large expatriate populations originating from malaria-endemic countries. Various malaria control and prevention strategies adopted by GCC countries including more stringent measures to reduce the likelihood of importing malaria cases by prior screening of newly arriving expatriates and vector elimination programs are likely to lead to malaria elimination in this region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59bc8c57bda044ec84c49eefa33f66a4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-59bc8c57bda044ec84c49eefa33f66a42023-11-22T04:25:34ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072021-07-0197143110.3390/microorganisms9071431Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) CountriesJamshaid Iqbal0Suhail Ahmad1Ali Sher2Mohammad Al-Awadhi3Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabriya 46300, KuwaitDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabriya 46300, KuwaitMinistry of Health, Infectious Diseases Hospital, Shuwaikh 70030, KuwaitDepartment of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabriya 46300, KuwaitMalaria is the most common vector-borne parasitic infection causing significant human morbidity and mortality in nearly 90 tropical/sub-tropical countries worldwide. Significant differences exist in the incidence of malaria cases, dominant <i>Plasmodium</i> species, drug-resistant strains and mortality rates in different countries. Six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, UAE) in the Middle East region with similar climates, population demographics and economic prosperity are aiming to achieve malaria elimination. In this narrative review, all studies indexed in PubMed describing epidemiological characteristics of indigenous and imported malaria cases, vector control status and how malaria infections can be controlled to achieve malaria elimination in GCC countries were reviewed and discussed. These studies have shown that indigenous malaria cases are absent in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE and have progressively declined in Oman and Saudi Arabia. However, imported malaria cases continue to occur as GCC countries have large expatriate populations originating from malaria-endemic countries. Various malaria control and prevention strategies adopted by GCC countries including more stringent measures to reduce the likelihood of importing malaria cases by prior screening of newly arriving expatriates and vector elimination programs are likely to lead to malaria elimination in this region.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/7/1431GCC countriesimported malariaexpatriatesepidemiologyprevalence |
| spellingShingle | Jamshaid Iqbal Suhail Ahmad Ali Sher Mohammad Al-Awadhi Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries Microorganisms GCC countries imported malaria expatriates epidemiology prevalence |
| title | Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_full | Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_fullStr | Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_short | Current Epidemiological Characteristics of Imported Malaria, Vector Control Status and Malaria Elimination Prospects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries |
| title_sort | current epidemiological characteristics of imported malaria vector control status and malaria elimination prospects in the gulf cooperation council gcc countries |
| topic | GCC countries imported malaria expatriates epidemiology prevalence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/7/1431 |
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