Migration-associated malaria from Africa in southern Spain

The western area of the province of Almeria, sited in southern Spain, has one of the highest immigrant population rates in Spain, mainly dedicated to agricultural work. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of imported malaria associated with migrants from cou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasites & vectors 2021-05, Vol.14 (1), p.240-240, Article 240
Main Authors: Pousibet-Puerto, Joaquín, Lozano-Serrano, Ana Belén, Soriano-Pérez, Manuel Jesús, Vázquez-Villegas, José, Giménez-López, María José, Cabeza-Barrera, María Isabel, Cuenca-Gómez, José Ángel, Palanca-Giménez, Matilde, Luzón-García, María Pilar, Castillo-Fernández, Nerea, Cabezas-Fernández, María Teresa, Salas-Coronas, Joaquín
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymptomatic
Causes of
Disease control
Disease prevention
Disease transmission
DNA
Epidemiology
Fever
Health aspects
Human diseases
Immigrants
Intestine
Malaria
Migrants
Migration
Migratory species
Nucleotide sequence
P. falciparum
Parasites
PCR
Protozoa
Risk factors
Statistics
Sub-Saharan Africa
Submicroscopic malaria
Travelers
Tropical climate
Vector-borne diseases
VFR migrants
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Summary:The western area of the province of Almeria, sited in southern Spain, has one of the highest immigrant population rates in Spain, mainly dedicated to agricultural work. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of imported malaria associated with migrants from countries belonging to sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of our study is to describe the epidemiological, clinical and analytical characteristics of malaria patients treated in a specialized tropical unit, paying special attention to the differences between VFR and non-VFR migrants and also to the peculiarities of microscopic malaria cases compared to submicroscopic ones. Retrospective observational study of migrants over 14 years of age with imported malaria treated from October 2004 to May 2019. Characteristics of VFR and non-VFR migrants were compared. Malaria cases were divided into microscopic malaria (MM) and submicroscopic malaria (SMM). SMM was defined as the presence of a positive malaria PCR test together with a negative direct microscopic examination and a negative rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Microscopic malaria was defined as the presence of a positive RDT and/or a positive smear examination. Three hundred thirty-six cases of malaria were diagnosed, 329 in sub-Saharan immigrants. Of these, 78.1% were VFR migrants, in whom MM predominated (85.2% of cases). In non-VFR migrants, SMM represented 72.2% of the cases. Overall, 239 (72.6%) patients presented MM and 90 (27.4%) SMM. Fever was the most frequent clinical manifestation (64.4%), mainly in the MM group (MM: 81.1% vs SMM: 20.0%; p 
ISSN:1756-3305
1756-3305
DOI:10.1186/s13071-021-04727-0