Passive Case Findings on Malaria in Yazd as a Central Province of Iran During 2011-2020

 Malaria is considered one of the most serious life-threatening diseases in Yazd, a central province of Iran, which hosts both domestic and foreign immigrants. This study aimed to investigate the trend of Malaria in Yazd during 2011-2020.

 In this descriptive retrospective study, all episodes of the disease (imported malaria) recorded at Yazd health center in Iran were carefully evaluated and reported. After preparing the peripheral blood smear and fixation with methanol, it was stained with Giemsa and examined with a light microscope by a skilled technician.

Totally, 95 confirmed malaria patients were investigated from 2011 to 2020. Plasmodium falciparum was the predominant species with 81 cases (85.26%). The highest rate of infection was observed in 49 cases (51.6.3%), in the age group of 50 years with 27 cases (42.86%), and in the working class with 69 cases (72.63%). Despite a decrease in Malaria cases through the implementation of the eradication program compared to the last two decades, its imported type is still showing up in the country, especially in the cosmopolitan city of Yazd, where domestic and foreign workers and tourists usually travel; thus it requires to be further monitored and controlled.