Page 175 - Resúmen - XXV Congreso Latinoamericano de Parasitología - FLAP

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The Road to Malaria Elimination in Costa Rica

Luis Fernando Chaves
INCIENSA, Tres Ríos, Cartago, Costa Rica, Apartado Postal 4-2250.

Costa Rica is one of the 20 most likely nations to be certified as Malaria free by WHO by 2020. Achieving
elimination is the outcome of several public policies that kept malaria transmission low in a highly vulnerable
th
tropical environment through most of the 20 century and over recent years. To illustrate this, I will discuss
how different malaria transmission reduction policies and natural catastrophes might have driven some
observed regime shifts of malaria transmission in Costa Rica since the 1950s, when the national malaria
program was created, and also from 1900 to 1932, based on detailed historical malaria records from the
Medical Department of the United Fruit Company in Costa Rica. I will also discuss the role that that El Niño
Southern Oscillation has had on the timing of epidemics and interannual variability in transmission. I will
also present data showing how housing improvement might have had a major impact shaping historical
malaria trends in Costa Rica and its association with geographical transmission hotspots. I will also show
how focalized Mass Drug Administrations (MDA) have been associated with significant malaria
transmission reduction and/or elimination in recent malaria transmission outbreaks in Costa Rica. The
implementation of MDAs for malaria elimination in Costa Rica illustrate the importance of proper and timely
malaria diagnostics, treatment and case management, all eased by the existence of a strong universal
healthcare system, and its potential to eliminate malaria not only in Costa Rica but also from all
Mesoamerica.

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