Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39801336›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of public health2025

An epidemiological risk assessment of imported malaria cases and potential local transmission in Qatar.

Devendra Bansal, Nada Assaad, Hend Omar Mohamed, Muralitharan Shanmugakonar, Dorothy Pacate, Khider Mohamed, Perumal Balakrishnan, Redentor Cuizon Ramiscal, Nandakumar Ganesan, Maha Hammam M A Al-Shamali and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Devendra BansalHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Nada AssaadDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Hend Omar MohamedWeill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Muralitharan ShanmugakonarLaboratory Animal Research Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Dorothy PacateHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Khider MohamedHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Perumal BalakrishnanDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Redentor Cuizon RamiscalHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Nandakumar GanesanHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Maha Hammam M A Al-ShamaliHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Ali A SultanWeill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Waqar MunirInfectious Disease Section, Communicable Disease Center, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Mohammed AbukhattabInfectious Disease Section, Communicable Disease Center, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Francis SchaffnerFrancis Schaffner Consultancy, Riehen, Switzerland.
Muna A Al-MaslamaniInfectious Disease Section, Communicable Disease Center, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Hamad Eid Al-RomaihiHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Mohammed Al-ThaniHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Fatima Al KhayatDepartment of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Elmoubashar Abd FaragHealth Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department, Ministry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.

Funding

National Priorities Research Program NPRP12S-0310-190284Qatar FoundationQatar National Research Fund
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Preventing local transmission of malaria from imported cases is crucial for achieving and maintaining malaria elimination. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of imported malaria cases and assess the distribution of malaria vectors in Qatar. Data from January 2016 to December 2022 on imported malaria, including demographic and epidemiological characteristics, travel-related information, and diagnostic results, were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics. Field surveys conducted in 2021-22 collected mosquitoes using various traps across Qatar. The collected samples underwent morphological and molecular characterization at Qatar University. A total of 2693 cases were reported, with a mean incidence of 13.5/100 000 population, decreasing from 18.8/100 000 in 2016 to 5.5/100 000 in 2020. Most cases were Plasmodium vivax (57.4%) followed by P. falciparum (40.4%). The median age was 32.9 ± 12.5 years, primarily males (86.7%), expatriates (99.6%) and notified during the hot months (July to September). Cases were mainly imported from the Eastern Mediterranean Region followed by the African and South-East Asia Region with no deaths and indigenous cases. Anopheles stephensi was identified as a widely distributed species, but none carried the Plasmodium pathogen. Despite no reports of local transmission, the presence of An. stephensi and favourable environmental conditions pose a risk in Qatar. Strengthening surveillance for imported malaria and reviewing epidemic protocols are necessary. Conventional field studies are imperative to address knowledge gaps in Anopheles mosquito ecology and biting habits in Qatar, accurately assessing the risk of local malaria transmission to support Qatar's malaria-free status.

Indexed as

Communicable Diseases, ImportedMalariaTravelAdolescentAdultAnimalsAnophelesFemaleHumansIncidenceMalaria, VivaxMaleMiddle AgedMosquito VectorsQatarRisk Assessment

Identifiers

PMID39801336
PMCPMC11725959

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.