Abstract
Malaria was once one of the most serious public health problems in China, with more than 30 million malaria cases annually before 1949. However, the disease burden has sharply declined and the epidemic areas has shrunken after the implementation of an integrated malaria control and elimination strategy, especially since 2000. Till now, China has successfully scaled up its efforts to become malaria-free and is currently being evaluated for malaria-free certification by the WHO. In the battle against malaria, China’s efforts have spanned generations, reducing from an incidence high of 122.9/10 000 (6.97 million cases) in 1954 to 0.06/10 000 (7855 cases) in 2010. In 2017, for the first time, China reached zero indigenous case of malaria, putting the country on track to record three consecutive years of zero transmission by 2020, accoding to the National Malaria Elimination Action Plan (2010–2020). China’s efforts to eliminate malaria is impressive, and the country is ded
A microbiologist in China examines blood samples as part of the malaria control program
December 16, 2020 – In 2010, China announced one of its most ambitious undertakings in public health: It planned to eliminate indigenous cases of malaria within a decade. The disease had a long and lethal history in the country it’s estimated that, in 1940, China had as many as 30 million cases of malaria resulting in 300,000 deaths and the parasite that causes it remained widespread in the early 2000s.
But by leveraging technology, implementing robust surveillance strategies, and firmly integrating the malaria control program into the country’s health system, China made quick work of one of the most persistent diseases on Earth. In 2016, the country recorded only three cases of indigenous malaria. In the years since, there hasn’t been a single documented case of malaria that originated within its borders. China is expected to soon be certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as