Malaria eradication and its effect on mortality levels

Abstract It is argued in this article that malaria eradication was only one of a group of factors which were responsible for the lowering of mortality levels in Ceylon in the years after 1946. The magnitude of the contribution made by these other factors has not generally been taken into account since they took effect during the period of malaria eradication, but since some of them were carried out in a few of the endemic malarial areas during the pre-eradication period, some attempt to measure them can be made of their impact on mortality levels. Further the effect of malaria eradication on mortality levels in the absence of these other measures is also studied by examining the case of Guatemala where in spite of malaria eradication the decline in mortality levels has not been so significant as in Ceylon.