Descriptive Epidemiology of Malaria Cases in the Population Covered by Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, 2001-2020

Background and purpose: Malaria is one of the infections caused by parasites in the blood. Despite preventive measures and treatments, it is still considered as one of the health problems in some parts of Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with malaria in the population covered by Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences between 2001 and 2020. Materials and methods: In this descriptive study, all positive cases of malaria registered in the Patient Management Center in Mazandaran Health Department (2001-2020) were included by census. Data were obtained from Health Network and Health Deputy in Mazandaran province. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS V23. Results: A total of 649 patients were found, including 591 (91.1%) men. The mean age of patients was 26±10.1 years. The patients mainly aged 20-29years (49.5 per 100,000) and the lowest rate of infection was found in cases of >70 years old (6 per 1000,000). Plasmodium vivax was the most common parasite (96.6%, n=624). Malaria transmission occurred most in spring and malaria cases declined in this period. Conclusion: Malaria cases showed a decreasing trend during the study period, however, socioeconomic and demographic factors could be of great value in understanding the epidemiology of the disease and predicting the foci eras.