Changes in registered malaria cases and deaths in Togo from 2008 to 2017

Abstract

The WHO Malaria Report 2019 stated that "globally, the burden of malaria was lower than ten years ago, but, in the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of malaria cases around the world". This study reported changes in malaria cases and deaths at the Togo national level (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) and presented anti-malaria fight results and eradication chances by 2030 in Togo. Methods: Cases and deaths were collected from medical records, monthly reports, and notes of 6000 health workers; then summarized by Region, District, year, and specific subpopulations. Estimates of annual trends of numbers of cases and deaths were obtained through generalized linear models. Results: The number of cases increased by four times, whereas the population increased by 1.3 times (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017). Increases affected all regions and subpopulations; the mean annual relative increases in children <5, pregnant women, and other persons !5 were 13%, 10%, and 14%, respectively. Death rates decreased in all Regions; the mean annual relative decreases in the subpopulations were 7%, 16%, and 6%, respectively. Conclusion: Case increases were associated with higher investments and better monitoring and death decreases to better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. These trends should incite government and partners to maintain or intensify current efforts to meet the elimination goals by 2030.

Seasonality of confirmed malaria cases from 2008 to 2017 in Togo: a time series analysis by health district and target group

“…Furthermore, this analysis reported an increase in confirmed malaria cases over time in most health districts and target groups. This result is consistent with two studies carried out in Togo, probably due to better registration of malaria cases and the deployment of community health workers (CHWs) at national level along time through increased international financial and technical resources [ 14 , 15 ]. CHWs were trained to use RDTs to diagnose malaria in the communities and to treat confirmed malaria cases.…”

“…CHWs were trained to use RDTs to diagnose malaria in the communities and to treat confirmed malaria cases. Widespread deployment of CHWs led to better diagnosis of malaria cases and therefore an increase in registered cases [ 15 ]. Another time series analysis conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2005 and 2014 showed an increase in confirmed malaria cases associated with the introduction of RDTs [ 24 ].…”

“…Data were collected monthly from January 2008 to December 2017 and stratified by health district and according to three target groups: (1) children < 5 years old, (2) children ≥ 5 years old and adults (without pregnant women), and (3) pregnant women. A detailed description of the Togolese health system and the routine collection of these data is presented elsewhere [ 15 ]. A confirmed malaria case is defined as a person with fever or history of fever (temperature ≥ 38.0 °C) over the past 2 days and who has a positive malaria diagnostic test by microscopy or rapid diagnostic test (RDT).…”

“…Most recently, Bakai et al . investigated the trend of reported malaria cases and deaths from 2008 to 2017 in the six health regions of Togo [ 15 ]. These two studies briefly addressed the seasonality of malaria but did not analyse it in-depth.…”

A Molecular Investigation of Malaria Infections From High-Transmission Areas of Southern Togo Reveals Different Species of Plasmodium Parasites

“…However, malaria epidemiology is poorly understood in Togo, with a paucity of information on species of Plasmodium that are responsible for disease transmission. Studies on disease burden erroneously made believe that malaria cases are only related to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infection in Togo ( Bakai et al, 2020 ; Thomas et al, 2020 ), making the standards of care unilateral with important implications in disease epidemiology.…”