Control and elimination of Plasmodium vivax malaria – A technical brief

Foreword

The Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 sets the most ambitious targets for malaria since the eradication era, namely to eliminate malaria from at least 35 countries and reduce case incidence and mortality rates by 90% globally. Plasmodium vivax presents a major challenge to achieving these targets. In 2013, it was estimated to be responsible for 16 million cases globally, and almost half the cases of malaria outside of Africa. It predominates in countries that are prime candidates for elimination, accounting for more than 70% of cases in countries with less than 5000 cases of malaria each year. Not only does P. vivax present a barrier to elimination, it is also increasingly recognised that P. vivax infections can be as debilitating as P. falciparum malaria, causing severe disease and death.