Malaria among Children in Suriname, South America

Malaria in children is a serious infectious disease. In Suriname, many children died due to malaria in the past. To prevent malaria in children, anti-malaria campaigns were executed. The last campaign was implemented from 2005 to 2010. To develop a strategy for the future, the current prevalence and mortality rates are needed. Since 1955, all confirmed malaria cases were registered by the Medical Mission and this database was used to determine the prevalence rate. For the mortality rates we used the cause of death which was registered on death certificates. Since 2005 no children died due to malaria. Also the prevalence rate dropped dramatically from 7255 in 2001 to 10 in 2014. However, despite these great results, 10 children were still diagnosed with malaria and there is a need for continuous attention to bring this number down to zero. The mobile goldmine workers can impose a threat for a new malaria epidemic, if they spread the malaria infection in Suriname. Therefore, effective prevention measures and treatment are still needed.