1887
Euroroundup Open Access
Like 0

Abstract

Global migration has resulted in a large number of asylum applications in Europe. In 2014, clusters of cases were reported among newly arrived Eritreans. This study aimed to assess malaria among Eritrean migrants in Europe from 2011 to 2016. We reviewed European migration numbers and malaria surveillance data for seven countries (Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) which received 44,050 (94.3%) of 46,730 Eritreans seeking asylum in Europe in 2014. The overall number of malaria cases, predominantly , increased significantly in 2014 compared to previous years, with the largest increases in Germany (44 cases in 2013 vs 294 in 2014, p < 0.001) and Sweden (18 in 2013 vs 205 in 2014, p < 0.001). Overall, malaria incidence in Eritreans increased from 1–5 to 25 cases per 1,000, and was highest in male teenagers (50 cases/1,000). In conclusion, an exceptional increase of malaria cases occurred in Europe in 2014 and 2015, due to rising numbers of Eritreans with high incidence of arriving in Europe. Our results demonstrate potential for rapid changes in imported malaria patterns, highlighting the need for improved awareness, surveillance efforts and timely healthcare in migrants.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.5.1800139
2019-01-31
2024-12-22
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.5.1800139
Loading
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/eurosurveillance/24/5/eurosurv-24-5-5.html?itemId=/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.5.1800139&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Risk of importation and spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases associated with the arrival of migrants to the EU. Stockholm: ECDC; 2015. Available from: https://ecdc.europa.eu/sites/portal/files/media/en/publications/Publications/risk-malaria-vector-borne-diseases-associated-with-migrants-october-2015.pdf
  2. Broderick C, Nadjm B, Smith V, Blaze M, Checkley A, Chiodini PL, et al. Clinical, geographical, and temporal risk factors associated with presentation and outcome of vivax malaria imported into the United Kingdom over 27 years: observational study. BMJ. 2015;350(apr16 13):h1703.  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h1703  PMID: 25882309 
  3. Gautret P, Cramer JP, Field V, Caumes E, Jensenius M, Gkrania-Klotsas E, et al. Infectious diseases among travellers and migrants in Europe, EuroTravNet 2010. Euro Surveill. 2012;17(26):20205. PMID: 22790534 
  4. Sonden K, Castro E, Törnnberg L, Stenstrom C, Tegnell A, Farnert A. High incidence of Plasmodium vivax malaria in newly arrived Eritrean refugees in Sweden since May 2014. Euro Surveill. 2014;19(35):20890. PMID: 25210980 
  5. Roggelin L, Tappe D, Noack B, Addo MM, Tannich E, Rothe C. Sharp increase of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria seen in migrants from Eritrea in Hamburg, Germany. Malar J. 2016;15(1):325.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-016-1366-7  PMID: 27316351 
  6. Norwegian Institute of Public Health (Folkehelseinstituttet). Malaria - veileder for helsepersonell. [Malaria – supervisor for health professionals]. Oslo: Folkehelseinstituttet. [Accessed 10 Feb 2016]. Norwegian. Available from: https://www.fhi.no/nettpub/smittevernveilederen/sykdommer-a-a/malaria---veileder-for-helsepersone/
  7. de Gier B, Suryapranata FS, Croughs M, van Genderen PJ, Keuter M, Visser LG, et al. Increase in imported malaria in the Netherlands in asylum seekers and VFR travellers. Malar J. 2017;16(1):60.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-017-1711-5  PMID: 28148300 
  8. Statens Serum Institut (SSI). Malaria 2014. Updated recommendations for malaria prophylaxis MERS-CoV outbreak in South Korea. EPI-News. 2015;25. Available from: http://www.ssi.dk/English/News/EPI-NEWS/2015/No%2025%20-%202015.aspx
  9. Eperon G, Durieux-Paillard S, Mauris A, Chappuis F, Gysin N. Malaria cases in Switzerland from 2005 to 2015 and recent rise of imported Plasmodium vivax malaria. Swiss Med Wkly. 2017;147:w14510. PMID: 29063526 
  10. Eurostat. Asylum statistics. [Accessed 5 Apr 2016]. Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics
  11. McFadden D. Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behavior. In: Zarembka P, editor. Frontiers in econometrics. New York: Academic Press; 1974. p. 104-142.
  12. World Health Organization (WHO). Severe falciparum malaria. World Health Organization, Communicable Diseases Cluster. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2000;94(Suppl 1):S1-90. PMID: 11103309 
  13. Grande R, di Gregorio A, Gismondo MR, Galli M, Antinori S. Rise in Plasmodium vivax malaria in a referral university hospital in Northern Italy. Abstracts of the 9th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health; 2015 Sep 6-10; Basel, Switzerland. Tropical Medicine and International Health; 2015.
  14. World Health Organization (WHO). World Malaria Report 2016. Geneva: WHO; 2016. Available from: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world_malaria_report_2016/en/
  15. Saidel-Odes L, Riesenberg K, Schlaeffer F, Smolyakov R, Kafka M, Borer A. Eritrean and Sudanese migrants presenting with malaria in Israel. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2011;9(6):303-5.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2011.09.003  PMID: 22037052 
  16. Kopel E, Schwartz E, Amitai Z, Volovik I. Relapsing vivax malaria cluster in Eritrean refugees, Israel, June 2010. Euro Surveill. 2010;15(26):19601. PMID: 20619133 
  17. Jamain HM, Abu Shaqra QA, Kanani KA. Epidemiological pattern of imported malaria in Jordan from 2007 to 2011. Trop Biomed. 2013;30(4):591-5. PMID: 24522127 
  18. Ahmed MO, Daw MA. Mapping the travel route of African refugees who traverse Libya to determine public health implications for Libya and the North-African region. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2016;14(2):162-4.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2015.12.007  PMID: 26787307 
  19. Shanks GD, White NJ. The activation of vivax malaria hypnozoites by infectious diseases. Lancet Infect Dis. 2013;13(10):900-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70095-1  PMID: 23809889 
  20. Tatem AJ, Jia P, Ordanovich D, Falkner M, Huang Z, Howes R, et al. The geography of imported malaria to non-endemic countries: a meta-analysis of nationally reported statistics. Lancet Infect Dis. 2017;17(1):98-107.  https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30326-7  PMID: 27777030 
  21. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe). History of malaria elimination in the European region. Copenhagen: WHO/Europe; 2016. Available from: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/307272/Facsheet-malaria-elimination.pdf
  22. Piperaki ET, Daikos GL. Malaria in Europe: emerging threat or minor nuisance? Clin Microbiol Infect. 2016;22(6):487-93.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2016.04.023  PMID: 27172807 
  23. Douglas NM, Anstey NM, Buffet PA, Poespoprodjo JR, Yeo TW, White NJ, et al. The anaemia of Plasmodium vivax malaria. Malar J. 2012;11(1):135.  https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-11-135  PMID: 22540175 
  24. Charchuk R, Paul MK, Claude KM, Houston S, Hawkes MT. Burden of malaria is higher among children in an internal displacement camp compared to a neighbouring village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Malar J. 2016;15(1):431.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-016-1479-z  PMID: 27557931 
  25. Office of the United Nation High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) and World Health Organization (WHO). The right to health. Geneva: OHCHR and WHO; 2008. Available from: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Factsheet31.pdf
/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2019.24.5.1800139
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Supplementary data

Submit comment
Close
Comment moderation successfully completed
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error