Imported falciparum malaria in Europe: 2007 data from TropNetEurop

An analysis of sentinel surveillance data of TropNetEurop shows 453 imported cases of falciparum malaria for 2007 - 442 with falciparum (97.6%) only and 11 with mixed plasmodial infections [1]. Previous comparisons with national notification data have shown that the sentinel system of TropNetEurop, with 53 member countries, covers approximately 12% of all imported malaria cases in Europe. Thus, although the analysis does not give a complete picture, we feel it gives a good indication of the quantity and quality of this infection in northern Europe. Although this trend is not mirrored in all countries in a similar way, overall numbers have been decreasing since a peak of 928 cases of falciparum malaria in 2003. The reasons for this are unclear, but decreased infection risks for travellers due to decreased vector exposure may play a significant role. .