[Imported malaria in Germany--countries of infection and parasite species, 1993-2007]

From 1993 to 2007, a total of 11,605 malaria cases were reported to the Robert Koch-Institut. For 9 593 of these cases information on the possible country of infection is available. Analysis of the data indicates that the malaria cases were imported to Germany from 96 countries. The majority of the malaria cases were acquired in Africa, followed by distinctly fewer cases from Asian countries. More than half of all cases were imported from only 6 countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gambia, and India). The number of cases imported from, e.g., Kenya and India has declined, whereas infections from Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon have increased during the last years. For more than two-thirds of all infections the predominant parasite species was P. falciparum; this is consistent with the predominance of the African continent as the main source of infection.