Malaria in the Republic of Ireland; A retrospective review of the clinical epidemiology of malaria between 2016 and 2020.

OBJECTIVES

Malaria is a parasitic infection that continues to present significant morbidity and mortality figures throughout the world. In the Republic of Ireland (Ireland), malaria is an imported infection linked most frequently to travel routes from West Africa. There is a paucity of data on the clinical epidemiology and hospital service utilization of malaria in non-endemic setting to inform physician practice. This study aims to fill that gap, providing a clinical context to the national picture of both adult and pediatric cases.

METHODS

A retrospective review of data from all public Irish hospitals was performed from 2016 to 2020, inclusive. Ethical approval was granted following review by the Social Research Ethics Committee (SREC) of University College Cork.

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSIONS

During the study period, there were 337 cases of malaria presenting to Irish hospitals, 15.1% (51/337) in the pediatric age category. Presentations occurred nationwide with a predictable seasonality. The majority (77.45%; 261/337) were Plasmodium falciparum and 6% (20/337) required critical care admission. Interestingly, females had a higher likelihood of admission to critical care (odds ratio 2.75, 95% confidence interval 1.1-6.86). The COVID-19 pandemic saw a 78% reduction in malaria presentations in 2020. A total of 1,166 bed days were utilized by cases of malaria.