E. DISTRIBUTION OF MALARIA Though the regions in which the population is exposed to malaria are gradually being restricted, there are still vast areas in which it is a major health problem. Malaria is particularly prevalent in certain countries of the Western Hemisphere situated 15° either side of the Equator, in Asia south of 40° north latitude, in Indonesia, in the southwest Pacific, and in Africa. Malaria is also endemic in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean area; in Portugal and Spain; in the Balkans; and in a large segment of southeast Russia below the 60th parallel. F. STATUS OF MALARIA ERADICATION For many years malaria control programs have been in operation in various countries of the world. In 1955, WHO launched a program aimed ultimately at the total eradication of the disease. As of September 1958, of the 1,168 million people formerly exposed to malaria, about 52 million (4.4 percent) in 9 countries have been essentially freed from the risk and 589 million (approximately 50 percent) in 53 countries are benefitting from programs in various stages of development. For still another 125 million (about 10 percent) in 14 countries, programs are being planned. This leaves slightly over 400 million people (some 34 percent of the population at risk) in 64 countries for whom malaria eradication programs are not yet in the planning stage. Either malaria morbidity and mortality have declined tremendously or else malaria has been eradicated in formerly malarious parts of Brazil, British and French Guiana, Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Mauritius, Venezuela, the U.S.A. and Yugoslavia. In wide areas of Bombay and the Mysore States in India and throughout Ceylon, transmission has been almost completely interrupted by modern control methods. Despite the tremendous advances on a global basis which have been made in its control, malaria still must be considered as one of the most acute, if not the worst, of the important health problems in the world today. |