Sri Lanka Malaria Maps Olivier

Background: Despite a relatively good national case reporting system in Sri Lanka, detailed maps of malaria distribution have not been publicly available. Methods: In this study, monthly records over the period 1995 – 2000 of microscopically confirmed malaria parasite positive blood film readings, at sub-district spatial resolution, were used to produce maps of malaria distribution across the island. Also, annual malaria trends at district resolution were displayed for the period 1995 – 2002. Results: The maps show that Plasmodium vivax malaria incidence has a marked variation in distribution over the island. The incidence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria follows a similar spatial pattern but is generally much lower than that of P. vivax. In the north, malaria shows one seasonal peak in the beginning of the year, whereas towards the south a second peak around June is more pronounced. Conclusion: This paper provides the first publicly available maps of both P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria incidence distribution on the island of Sri Lanka at sub-district resolution, which may be useful to health professionals, travellers and travel medicine professionals in their assessment of malaria risk in Sri Lanka. As incidence of malaria changes over time, regular updates of these maps are necessary. Background The Anti Malaria Campaign (AMC) Directorate of the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka maintains a relatively good national case reporting system. However, maps of malaria disease distribution over the island have not been available to a wide public, until a recent publication of a map based on 1989–1994 incidence data at district resolution [1]. Travel medicine Internet sites describe in their advice to travellers to Sri Lanka merely that the risk of malaria is present all year round in all areas (below 800 m altitude), except in the districts of Colombo, Kalutara, and Nuwara Eliya, and sometimes unrealistic maps are posted. In Sri Lanka, two species of malaria, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, are present. The main vector is Anopheles culicifacies, which breeds mainly in pools in stagnant rivers, and therefore, its density is mostly dependent on temporal and spatial variations in rainfall and river flow. An. culicifacies also breeds in abandoned gem mining pits and agricultural wells. Vectors of less Published: 22 July 2003 Malaria Journal 2003, 2:22 Received: 02 April 2003 Accepted: 22 July 2003 This article is available from: http://www.malariajournal.com/content/2/1/22 © 2003 Briët et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.