Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41535932›Full record

ArticleBMC global and public health2026

The profile of imported malaria in Sri Lanka from 2013 to 2023.

Pubudu Chulasiri, Deepika Fernando, Shilanthi Seneviratne, Rajitha Wickremasinghe, Champa Aluthweera, Thilan Fernando, Kumudu Gunasekera, Kamini Mendis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC global and public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Pubudu Chulasiri *Anti Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka. pubudu.chulasiri@gmail.com.
Deepika Fernando *Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Shilanthi SeneviratneAnti Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Rajitha WickremasingheDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka.
Champa AluthweeraAnti Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Thilan FernandoAnti Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Kumudu GunasekeraAnti Malaria Campaign, Ministry of Health, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Kamini MendisDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSri Lanka was certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization in 2016 and has remained so since then. Yet, imported malaria cases and the presence of mosquito vectors in parts of the country threaten the re-establishment of malaria.

methodsData on imported malaria cases diagnosed from 2013 to 2023 in Sri Lanka were extracted from the National Malaria Database containing detailed data on every case of malaria maintained at the Anti Malaria Campaign, Sri Lanka. Descriptive analyses were carried out to characterize imported malaria in the country.

resultsA total of 532 imported malaria cases were reported during the study period, over half of them (68.5%) were those who traveled for employment as low-wage or high-wage workers. Infections with all four human malaria species were imported, with a majority being Plasmodium (P.) falciparum (48.1%), most acquired in Africa, and P. vivax (40.5%), most acquired in India. Imported P. ovale infections took longer to manifest clinically from time of travel (median 95 days) than did other Plasmodia infections (median 14 days). Infections with P. malariae took longer to diagnose from onset of illness (median 15.5 days) than other Plasmodium species (median 4-6 days). Patients accessed healthcare for their malaria illness sooner (geometric mean = 2.42 days) than physicians took to diagnose malaria (geometric mean 3.41 days) (p < 0.001). Seven patients with P. falciparum recrudesced and three with P. vivax relapsed. Forty-six imported malaria cases were severe, all but one due to P. falciparum, and one death occurred among them over the study period. Epidemiological features of imported malaria were species-specific and related to the biology of the Plasmodium species.

conclusionsA large proportion of imported malaria, predominantly P. falciparum and P. vivax, was associated with work-related travel. The parasite species incidence over the years followed trends of incidence reported from Africa and India from where they were predominantly imported. The delay in diagnosing imported malaria which increases the risk of morbidity and mortality, and also risks the re-establishment of malaria in the country were mainly on the part of the physicians and not due to patients delaying seeking treatment.

Indexed as

ChemoprophylaxisDelayed diagnosisImported malaria; Sri LankaLabor migrationTravelers’ malaria

Identifiers

PMID41535932
PMCPMC12805712

What Socratic holds

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