Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka
Abstract Malaria was eliminated from Sri Lanka in 2012, and the country received WHO-certification in 2016. The objective of this paper is to describe the epidemiology of malaria elimination in Sri Lanka, and the key technical and operational features of the elimination effort, which may have been c...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:aca9b3cfa4a14ef79843e8acef0c27f3 2023-05-15T15:16:54+02:00 Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka Risintha Premaratne Rajitha Wickremasinghe Dewanee Ranaweera W. M. Kumudu T. de A. W. Gunasekera Mihirini Hevawitharana Lalanthika Pieris Deepika Fernando Kamini Mendis 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 https://doaj.org/article/aca9b3cfa4a14ef79843e8acef0c27f3 EN eng BMC http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/aca9b3cfa4a14ef79843e8acef0c27f3 Malaria Journal, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2019) Malaria elimination Sri Lanka Entomological surveillance Case surveillance Anti-relapse treatment Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 2022-12-31T14:49:42Z Abstract Malaria was eliminated from Sri Lanka in 2012, and the country received WHO-certification in 2016. The objective of this paper is to describe the epidemiology of malaria elimination in Sri Lanka, and the key technical and operational features of the elimination effort, which may have been central to achieving the goal, even prior to schedule, and despite an ongoing war in parts of the country. Analysis of information and data from the Anti Malaria Campaign (AMC) of Sri Lanka during and before the elimination phase, and the experiences of the author(s) who directed and/or implemented the elimination programme or supported it form the basis of this paper. The key epidemiological features of malaria on the path to elimination included a steady reduction of case incidence from 1999 onwards, and the simultaneous elimination of both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Against the backdrop of a good health infrastructure the AMC, a specialized programme within the Ministry of Health operated through a decentralized provincial health system to implement accepted strategies for the elimination of malaria. Careful planning combined with expertise on malaria control at the Central level with dedicated staff at all levels at the Centre and on the ground in all districts, for several years, was the foundation of this success. The stringent implementation of anti-relapse treatment for P. vivax through a strong collaboration with the military in whose cadres most of the malaria cases were clustered in the last few years of transmission would have supported the relatively rapid elimination of P. vivax. A robust case and entomological surveillance and investigation system described here enabled a highly focused approach to delivering interventions leading to the interruption of transmission. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 18 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Malaria elimination Sri Lanka Entomological surveillance Case surveillance Anti-relapse treatment Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Malaria elimination Sri Lanka Entomological surveillance Case surveillance Anti-relapse treatment Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Risintha Premaratne Rajitha Wickremasinghe Dewanee Ranaweera W. M. Kumudu T. de A. W. Gunasekera Mihirini Hevawitharana Lalanthika Pieris Deepika Fernando Kamini Mendis Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
topic_facet |
Malaria elimination Sri Lanka Entomological surveillance Case surveillance Anti-relapse treatment Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Malaria was eliminated from Sri Lanka in 2012, and the country received WHO-certification in 2016. The objective of this paper is to describe the epidemiology of malaria elimination in Sri Lanka, and the key technical and operational features of the elimination effort, which may have been central to achieving the goal, even prior to schedule, and despite an ongoing war in parts of the country. Analysis of information and data from the Anti Malaria Campaign (AMC) of Sri Lanka during and before the elimination phase, and the experiences of the author(s) who directed and/or implemented the elimination programme or supported it form the basis of this paper. The key epidemiological features of malaria on the path to elimination included a steady reduction of case incidence from 1999 onwards, and the simultaneous elimination of both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Against the backdrop of a good health infrastructure the AMC, a specialized programme within the Ministry of Health operated through a decentralized provincial health system to implement accepted strategies for the elimination of malaria. Careful planning combined with expertise on malaria control at the Central level with dedicated staff at all levels at the Centre and on the ground in all districts, for several years, was the foundation of this success. The stringent implementation of anti-relapse treatment for P. vivax through a strong collaboration with the military in whose cadres most of the malaria cases were clustered in the last few years of transmission would have supported the relatively rapid elimination of P. vivax. A robust case and entomological surveillance and investigation system described here enabled a highly focused approach to delivering interventions leading to the interruption of transmission. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Risintha Premaratne Rajitha Wickremasinghe Dewanee Ranaweera W. M. Kumudu T. de A. W. Gunasekera Mihirini Hevawitharana Lalanthika Pieris Deepika Fernando Kamini Mendis |
author_facet |
Risintha Premaratne Rajitha Wickremasinghe Dewanee Ranaweera W. M. Kumudu T. de A. W. Gunasekera Mihirini Hevawitharana Lalanthika Pieris Deepika Fernando Kamini Mendis |
author_sort |
Risintha Premaratne |
title |
Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
title_short |
Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
title_full |
Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
title_fullStr |
Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
title_full_unstemmed |
Technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from Sri Lanka |
title_sort |
technical and operational underpinnings of malaria elimination from sri lanka |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 https://doaj.org/article/aca9b3cfa4a14ef79843e8acef0c27f3 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/aca9b3cfa4a14ef79843e8acef0c27f3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2886-8 |
container_title |
Malaria Journal |
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18 |
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1 |
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1766347197767483392 |