Surveillance for malaria outbreak on malaria-eliminating islands in Tafea Province, Vanuatu after Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015.
The risk of malaria outbreak surfaced in Vanuatu after Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam in March 2015. In June and July 2015 we conducted malariometric surveys on the islands of Tanna, Aneityum, and Erromango in Tafea Province, where malaria elimination had been targeted, to determine if malaria incidence had increased after TC Pam. No Plasmodium infection was detected by microscopy and PCR in 3009 survey participants. Only 6·3% (190/3007) of participants had fever. Spleen rates in children aged ⩽12 years from Aneityum and Tanna were low, at 3·6% (14/387) and 5·3% (27/510), respectively. Overall bed net use was high at 72·8% (2175/2986); however, a significantly higher (P < 0·001) proportion of participants from Aneityum (85·9%, 796/927) reported net use than those from Tanna (67·1%, 751/1119) and Erromango (66·8%, 628/940). A recent decrease in malaria incidence in Tafea Province through comprehensive intervention measures had reduced the indigenous parasite reservoir and limited the latter's potential to spur an outbreak after TC Pam. The path towards malaria elimination in Tafea Province was not adversely affected by TC Pam.
Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC),Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden.
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0000-0002-4039-2649
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Chan
Ministry of Health,Port Vila,Vanuatu.
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Iata
Ministry of Health,Port Vila,Vanuatu.
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Yaviong
Ministry of Health,Port Vila,Vanuatu.
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Kalkoa
Ministry of Health,Port Vila,Vanuatu.
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Yamar
Ministry of Health,Port Vila,Vanuatu.
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Taleo
Department of Parasitology,Graduate School of Medicine,Osaka City University,Osaka,Japan.
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Isozumi
Department of Parasitology,Graduate School of Medicine,Osaka City University,Osaka,Japan.
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Fukui
NTT DECOMO,Tokyo,Japan.
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Aoyama
Department of Anthropology,Binghamton University,Binghamton,NY,USA.
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Pomer
Département des sciences de l'activité physique,Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM),Montréal,Québec,Canada.
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Dancause
Island Malaria Group, Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC),Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden.
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Kaneko
D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D009514:Vanuatu / Q000453:epidemiology

               Plasmodium
            ; Malaria; outbreaks; public health; surveillance