Imported malaria at Buraidah Central Hospital, Qassim, Saudi Arabia: A retrospective analysis

SummaryBackgroundMalaria is a major threat to global health and it is a widespread throughout tropical and subtropical countries with an increasing risk to travellers.MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted to investigate the epidemiology of imported malaria at Buraidah in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia during the period of January 2010 through April 2013.ResultsThere were 46 imported malaria cases. These cases were Plasmodium vivax (89.1%), Plasmodium falciparum (0.02%) and were mixed in 4 cases. Their age range between 14 and 54 and the mean was 29.7 years. Around three quarter (71.2%) of the patients were males. Most of the patients were Indian (54.3%) and Pakistani (23.9%). Over half (54.3%) of the patients had severe malaria, mainly severe anaemia, jaundice and hypotension. There was no mortality among the patients.ConclusionsMost of the detected malaria cases in this setting were among expatriates, particularly from the Indian subcontinent, while the predominant species was P. vivax. More than 50% of the cases presented with severe malaria.