The amazing eradication story and current situation of malaria in Cyprus

Abstract

Malaria is still among the diseases that threaten public health maintaining its infectious importance. Cyprus is a small island that is home to two separate communities: Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. The history of malarial fevers in Cyprus has been long and tragic, and over the centuries, these fevers have cost many lives on the island and have been the major cause of chronic ill-health. As a result of the eradication project, Cyprus went down in history as the first country in the world where malaria was eliminated, and malaria infection has not been observed in Cyprus since 1950. However, due to the flow of foreign students and workers coming to the island in recent years, there is an increase in imported malaria cases. Clearly nowadays, immigration to the island, especially in the regions where malaria is endemic, poses a risk for the emergence of domestic malaria cases. In this article, we aim to emphasize the historical importance of malaria in Cyprus and to discuss the risk factors associated with the recurrence of the disease on the island.