Malaria Elimination Program: Absence of asymptomatic malaria and low parasitic in endemic area of Rudan district, Hormozgan Province, Iran

Introduction: Malaria is a major global public health problem and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries. Malaria elimination is the common goal of World Health Organization and the health system in Iran. Following a decline in malaria cases in recent years, the malaria elimination program, technically supported by the WHO, has initiated since 2009 in Iran. In order to successfully implement a malaria elimination program, all positive cases particularly low parasitemia and asymptomatic cases are required to be detected. The main objective of this study was to identify asymptomatic malaria infection in a low transmission area in Rudan district, Hormozgan Province, southern Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional study a total of 200 blood samples were randomly collected from symptomless residents of Rudan to evaluate Plasmodium infection rate where microscope, RDT and nested-PCR techniques were used. Results: According to the analysis of microscopic methods, RDT and Nested-PCR, no asymptomatic cases were seen among the participants. Conclusion: The results of this investigation reveal that Malaria Elimination Program is administrable in Rudan district irrespective of low-parasitemia and asymptomatic cases.