Retrospective Analysis of Cases with Imported Malaria in Hatay Province of Turkey: Seventy-Five Cases in Ten Years

Objective: Cases with imported malaria have increased complication and mortality rates because of delayed diagnosis and treatment in non-endemic countries. This study aimed to investigate the incidence and clinical features of imported malaria in our clinic during the past 10 years. Methods: This retrospective study included 75 cases diagnosed as having imported malaria in our clinic between January 2008 and December 2017. The epidemiological data, laboratory findings, treatment data and clinical course of the cases were obtained from system records. Results: Patients were predominantly male (%98.6) with a median age of 51 (23-64) years. All cases were infected with Plasmodium falciparum, had a recent travel history to Sub-Saharan African countries and none had received chemoprophylaxis before travel. The incidence of imported malaria showed a declining trend after 2015. The most common findings were fever (100%), thrombocytopenia (84%) and anemia (72%). Although 8% of patients had presented with severe malaria, none of them died. Conclusion: Despite increasing incidence of imported malaria in our country in recent years, there is a decrease in this number in our region. Since Turkey is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of imported malaria in the world, patients with fever and thrombocytopenia should be questioned whether or not they had a history of travel to malaria-endemic area.