[Status of Malaria and Diagnosis Rate in the Republic of Korea, 2018-2022].

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease designated as a Class-3 infectious disease in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Since the malaria outbreak in the military camps at Paju, an area near North Korea in 1993, the ROK has continuously witnessed the occurrence of malaria. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the ROK is a malaria elimination target country, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) is promoting a five-year (2019-2023) action plan to eliminate malaria. Over the past five years, the number of malaria cases in the ROK have decreased slightly every year since 1998. However, the ROK remains far from malaria elimination, which aims at zero indigenous cases. The action plan aims to analyze the diagnosis rate within five days and initiates epidemiological investigation rate. Most of the malaria cases in the ROK occur mainly between April and October. By region, 59.2% of all cases occur in Gyeonggi-do, and Incheon had the highest incidence rate (2.1) per 100,000 people. Altogether, 64.4% of the total malaria cases have been reported from 30 districts that have been designated as malaria-risk areas. The indicators were found to be 73.6% in the diagnosis rate within five days and 81.7% in the epidemiological investigation rate. In the malaria-risk areas, the disease diagnosis and epidemiological investigations took a shorter time than in other regions. It was confirmed that the time of diagnosis after the onset of malaria symptoms was 4.75 days across the nation. In countries that have been certified by WHO for malaria elimination, rapid diagnosis and treatment are major strategies that have contributed to disease eradication. Thus, various approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and medium management are necessary to eliminate malaria.