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Review
. 2015 May 14;9(5):e0003700.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003700. eCollection 2015 May.

Prospects for malaria elimination in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola

Sócrates Herrera  1 , Sergio Andrés Ochoa-Orozco  1 , Iveth J González  2 , Lucrecia Peinado  3 , Martha L Quiñones  4 , Myriam Arévalo-Herrera  5
Affiliations
Review

Prospects for malaria elimination in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola

Sócrates Herrera et al. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. .

Abstract

Malaria remains endemic in 21 countries of the American continent with an estimated 427,000 cases per year. Approximately 10% of these occur in the Mesoamerican and Caribbean regions. During the last decade, malaria transmission in Mesoamerica showed a decrease of ~85%; whereas, in the Caribbean region, Hispaniola (comprising the Dominican Republic [DR] and Haiti) presented an overall rise in malaria transmission, primarily due to a steady increase in Haiti, while DR experienced a significant transmission decrease in this period. The significant malaria reduction observed recently in the region prompted the launch of an initiative for Malaria Elimination in Mesoamerica and Hispaniola (EMMIE) with the active involvement of the National Malaria Control Programs (NMCPs) of nine countries, the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) for Mesoamerica, and the Council of Health Ministries of Central America and Dominican Republic (COMISCA). The EMMIE initiative is supported by the Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) with active participation of multiple partners including Ministries of Health, bilateral and multilateral agencies, as well as research centers. EMMIE's main goal is to achieve elimination of malaria transmission in the region by 2020. Here we discuss the prospects, challenges, and research needs associated with this initiative that, if successful, could represent a paradigm for other malaria-affected regions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have decared that no competing interest exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Distribution of malaria in the American continent according to the Annual Parasite Index in 2012.
Source: Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) (No data available from Guatemala and El Salvador).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Malaria cases in Mesoamerica from 2000 to 2012.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Slide Positivity Rate (SPR) in the last 10 years in Latin America and Mesoamerica.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Distribution of malaria in the Mesoamerican region according to the API.
Information from the PAHO. Source: PAHO (No data available from Guatemala and El Salvador)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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