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. 2025 Jan 20;25(1):239.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21466-4.

A retrospective analysis of the malaria trend in Yemen over the sixteen-years, from 2006 to 2021

Wadhah Hassan Edrees  1   2 , Wadee Abdullah Al-Shehari  3   4
Affiliations

A retrospective analysis of the malaria trend in Yemen over the sixteen-years, from 2006 to 2021

Wadhah Hassan Edrees et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Malaria is one of the important diseases that threatens the global health system, especially in developing countries, including Yemen. Based on surveillance data, this analysis aimed to assess the trend of malaria in Yemen over the last sixteen years from 2006 to 2021.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on secondary malaria data from the database from the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Yemen.

Results: Of the 15,153,763 suspected cases, approximately 3,651,508 malaria cases were confirmed by both laboratory and clinical diagnoses. Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, mixed infections, P. malariae, and P. ovale were recorded at 1,118,117 (98.72%), 123,28 (1.10%), 1838 (0.16%), 155 (0.01%), and 30 (0.01%), respectively. Approximately 77.2% of all malaria cases were recorded in six governorates. Al Hudaydah recorded the highest number of malaria cases (1,231,294), followed by Hajjah (623,937), Taiz (450,051), Dhamar (167,399), Sa'adah (157,881), and Al-Mahweet (154,763). The overall incidence rate of malaria cases and P. falciparum, respectively, was 8.9 and 2.66 per 1,000 people. The highest mean incidence rate of malaria was recorded in Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Al-Mahweet, Sa'adah, and Abyan, respectively, at 29.71, 19.49, 14.98, 10.62, and 10.14 per 1,000 people. Yemen reported 704 (0.02%) malaria death cases with an overall rate of case fatality of 0.03% and a mortality rate of 0.18 per 100,000 populations. The trend of case fatality decreased from 0.029% in 2006 to 0.015% in 2020, while the mortality rate per 100,000 individuals decreased from 0.3 in 2006 to 0.08 in 2021.

Conclusion: It currently suggests a continuous increase in the malaria burden without specifying trends or fluctuations and is becoming a public health threat and causing widespread concern. Therefore, the treatment and prevention of malaria infection are crucial for reducing mortality and complications by increasing the use of vector control tools and promoting early diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum; Case fatality; Incidence rate; Malaria cases; Mortality rate; Trend; Yemen.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: This analysis was conducted in accordance with Yemeni public health laws and regulations as well as adhering to the Declaration of Helsinki. Furthermore, the Research and Ethics Committee of the College of Applied Sciences, Hajjah University (Reference No. 087/2023, on 9 December 2023) approved the ethical statement for conducting this analysis. Moreover, the Hajjah University also wrote an official letter to the MoPHP, outlining the purpose of this analysis. Accordingly, due to the retrospective nature of the study, the MoPHP granted permission for the use of database data for research purposes in line with Article 51 of the Yemeni Public Health Law No. (4) 2009, without the need for informed consent. To ensure the protection of the personal information of the cases, confidential codes were used, and the data collected were analyzed as anonymous. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of the Republic of Yemen
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Frequency of malaria cases in Yemen between 2006 and 2021
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Total, percent, and incidence rate of malaria cases by year of infection in Yemen between 2006–2021
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Overall incidence rate of malaria cases in Yemen from 2006 to 2021
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A. Geographic distribution of overall malaria cases in each four years by governorates, from 2006 to 2021. B. Geographic distribution of mean incidence rate per 1,000 population of malaria cases in each four years by governorates, from 2006 to 2021
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Total, percent, and incidence rate of P. falciparum by year of infection in Yemen between 2006–2021
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Overall number and mean incidence rate of P. falciparum cases in Yemen from 2006 to 2021
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
A. Geographic distribution of overall P. falciparum cases in each four years by governorates, from 2006 to 2021. A. Geographic distribution of mean incidence rate per 1,000 population of P. falciparum cases in each four years by governorates, from 2006 to 2021
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Trend of malaria death by year in Yemen between 2006 and 2021
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