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[Management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): experiences from imported malaria control in China]
1Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, WHO Collaborating Center for Research and Training on Malaria Elimination, Key Laboratory of National Health Commission on Parasitic Disease Control and Prevention, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory on Parasite and Vector Control Technology, Wuxi 214064, China.
Insights
China faces challenges controlling imported coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Lessons from managing imported malaria offer strategies for effective COVID-19 control and maintaining elimination achievements.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Infectious Disease Control
- Public Health
Background:
- Local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is contained in China, but importation poses a growing challenge.
- Malaria, once endemic, has been eliminated locally in China since 2010, with successful management of approximately 3,000 annual imported cases.
- The increasing number of imported COVID-19 cases necessitates new control strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze and compare the epidemiological characteristics and current epidemic situation of COVID-19 in China with those of malaria.
- To propose strategies and countermeasures for controlling imported COVID-19 cases based on experiences with imported malaria.
- To provide insights for consolidating COVID-19 control achievements in China.
Main Methods:
- Comparative epidemiological analysis of COVID-19 and malaria in China.
- Review of successful strategies for managing imported malaria cases.
- Development of proposed countermeasures for imported COVID-19.
Main Results:
- Imported COVID-19 cases present a significant challenge to China's disease control efforts.
- Established malaria control programs offer a framework for managing imported infectious diseases.
- Successful malaria importation management demonstrates the feasibility of controlling imported diseases.
Conclusions:
- China can leverage its experience in managing imported malaria to develop effective strategies for controlling imported COVID-19.
- Proactive measures and robust systems are crucial for preventing the resurgence of COVID-19 from imported cases.
- Adapting successful malaria control experiences can strengthen China's response to imported infectious diseases and maintain public health security.
Abstract:
Currently, the local transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been effectively contained in China; however, the epidemic situation of this highly infectious disease is more and more serious outside of China. Importation of COVID-19 cases from other countries and territories is therefore becoming a new challenge for the control of COVID-19 in China. Malaria was once widely epidemic in China. Nevertheless, the local transmission of this parasitic disease has been interrupted in China since the launch of the national malaria elimination programme in 2010, and great successes have been achieved in the management of appropriately 3 thousand malaria cases imported from other countries and territories annually. Hereby, the epidemiological characteristics and current epidemic situation of COVID-19 in China were analyzed and compared with malaria. Based on the successful experiences from the management of overseas imported malaria in China, the strategy and countermeasures for COVID-19 control were proposed, so as to provide insights into the response to the importation of COVID-19 from other countries and territories and the consolidation of the control achievements in China.
