Malaria Diagnosis and Verification — China, 2017–2018

Abstract

What is already known about this topic? Prompt, accurate diagnosis is an essential part of malaria elimination strategies. Insufficient malaria diagnosis capacity will be a potential risk for malaria reintroduction. What is added by this report? Health facilities at the county and prefectural levels were the most concentrated facilities for initial diagnosis of malaria (68.2%) and confirmation (76.4%). More than 65% of cases could not be diagnosed within 1 day of onset, and only 89.4% of laboratory-confirmed cases were accurate. What are the implications for public health practice? Malaria health education should be strengthened to improve public awareness and health professionals’ vigilance of malaria, thereby shortening the diagnostic intervals. In addition, the capacity of malaria diagnosis, especially Plasmodium speciation, should be improved to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.