An integrated approach to prioritizing areas for imported malaria re-establishment prevention in Chongqing, China
- 1Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention , ,
- 2National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research); NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology; WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases; National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases , ,
- 3Liangjiang New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention , ,
Abstract
Objective: This study integrated spatiotemporal analysis of imported malaria cases, ecological niche modeling of Anopheles sinensis, and field-measured vector density to prioritize county-level areas for imported malaria re‑establishment prevention in Chongqing, China. The findings facilitate a stratified and targeted response strategy, thereby providing evidence-based guidance for mitigating the risk of re-establishment arising from imported cases.
Methods: Data on imported malaria cases in Chongqing (2014–2024) and vector surveillance records were compiled for this study. The vector data comprised two components: occurrence records (2011–2025) for ecological niche modeling and quantitative density measurements (2011–2024) for priority mapping, with density expressed as captures per trap-night during the peak mosquito activity season (June–October). Spatiotemporal pattern analysis was performed using R 4.5.2. Based on the vector data, ecological niche modeling was implemented via biomod2 (v.3.5.1), whereas all spatial operations—including map overlays and priority zoning—were conducted in ArcGIS 10.8.
Results: Of the 301 imported malaria cases documented in Chongqing during 2014–2024, 75.08% were attributed to P. falciparum and 12.29% to P. vivax. The affected population was predominantly male (94.35%), aged 21–50 years (84.71%), and predominantly composed of outbound migrant workers (60.80%). Cases originated from 32 African countries (90.37%), with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria accounting for the highest proportions. Spatially, cases were mainly clustered in the metropolitan area and western districts. Among the 39 P. vivax cases (including mixed infections), relative concentrations were observed in Yubei, Hechuan, and Pengshui, and 20 (51.28%) were reported during the peak mosquito activity season (June–October). The ensemble niche model for An. sinensis identified bio5, NDVI and bio11 as the leading environmental determinants, with predicted suitable habitats largely concentrated in the metropolitan and western areas. Field surveillance revealed substantial spatial heterogeneity in vector density, with the highest densities recorded in Wanzhou, followed by Yunyang, Fengjie, and Fengdu, whereas densities in the metropolitan districts were uniformly low except in Jiulongpo.
Conclusions: Suitable habitats for An. sinensis were predicted across most of Chongqing, yet imported cases were primarily concentrated in the metropolitan area and western Chongqing. After further overlaying imported P. vivax cases and empirical vector density data. Wanzhou, Yubei, Hechuan, Tongnan, Pengshui, and Jiulongpo were identified as top-priority districts, whereas Tongliang, Shapingba, Jiangjin, Yongchuan, Dazu, Rongchang, Fuling, Wulong, Xiushan, Zhongxian, and Wushan were classified as moderate-priority districts. Enhanced surveillance should be prioritized to ensure timely detection and standardized clinical management of imported cases, coupled with vector suppression during the peak mosquito activity season—so as to eliminate opportunity for re-establishment.
Related
- Establishment of a One Health workforce for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
- Establishment of a clear cell renal cell carcinoma organoid cohort integrated into the UroCCR clinical database: A feasibility study
- Signal-Oriented Framework for Early Identification of Imported Respiratory Infectious Disease Risk
- Early Detection and Response to the First Imported Case of Zika Virus Disease — Hainan Province, China, 2025
- Nosocomial Respiratory Syncytial Virus in the Post-Pandemic Era: Evolving Epidemiology and Integrated Prevention Strategies.
BibTeX
@article{jiang2026integrated,
title = {{An integrated approach to prioritizing areas for imported malaria re-establishment prevention in Chongqing, China}},
author = {Dan Jiang and Yan Tan and Mengping Yang and Shenbo Chen and Heyi Guan and Senping Yang and Huajun Bai and Fei Luo and Jun-Hu Chen and Shuang Zhou},
journal = {Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2026.1929309},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724430},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An integrated approach to prioritizing areas for imported malaria re-establishment prevention in Chongqing, China
AU - Dan Jiang
AU - Yan Tan
AU - Mengping Yang
AU - Shenbo Chen
AU - Heyi Guan
AU - Senping Yang
AU - Huajun Bai
AU - Fei Luo
AU - Jun-Hu Chen
AU - Shuang Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2026.1929309
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724430
AB - Objective: This study integrated spatiotemporal analysis of imported malaria cases, ecological niche modeling of Anopheles sinensis, and field-measured vector density to prioritize county-level areas for imported malaria re‑establishment prevention in Chongqing, China. The findings facilitate a stratified and targeted response strategy, thereby providing evidence-based guidance for mitigating the risk of re-establishment arising from imported cases. Methods: Data on imported malaria cases in Chongqing (2014–2024) and vector surveillance records were compiled for this study. The vector data comprised two components: occurrence records (2011–2025) for ecological niche modeling and quantitative density measurements (2011–2024) for priority mapping, with density expressed as captures per trap-night during the peak mosquito activity season (June–October). Spatiotemporal pattern analysis was performed using R 4.5.2. Based on the vector data, ecological niche modeling was implemented via biomod2 (v.3.5.1), whereas all spatial operations—including map overlays and priority zoning—were conducted in ArcGIS 10.8. Results: Of the 301 imported malaria cases documented in Chongqing during 2014–2024, 75.08% were attributed to P. falciparum and 12.29% to P. vivax. The affected population was predominantly male (94.35%), aged 21–50 years (84.71%), and predominantly composed of outbound migrant workers (60.80%). Cases originated from 32 African countries (90.37%), with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria accounting for the highest proportions. Spatially, cases were mainly clustered in the metropolitan area and western districts. Among the 39 P. vivax cases (including mixed infections), relative concentrations were observed in Yubei, Hechuan, and Pengshui, and 20 (51.28%) were reported during the peak mosquito activity season (June–October). The ensemble niche model for An. sinensis identified bio5, NDVI and bio11 as the leading environmental determinants, with predicted suitable habitats largely concentrated in the metropolitan and western areas. Field surveillance revealed substantial spatial heterogeneity in vector density, with the highest densities recorded in Wanzhou, followed by Yunyang, Fengjie, and Fengdu, whereas densities in the metropolitan districts were uniformly low except in Jiulongpo. Conclusions: Suitable habitats for An. sinensis were predicted across most of Chongqing, yet imported cases were primarily concentrated in the metropolitan area and western Chongqing. After further overlaying imported P. vivax cases and empirical vector density data. Wanzhou, Yubei, Hechuan, Tongnan, Pengshui, and Jiulongpo were identified as top-priority districts, whereas Tongliang, Shapingba, Jiangjin, Yongchuan, Dazu, Rongchang, Fuling, Wulong, Xiushan, Zhongxian, and Wushan were classified as moderate-priority districts. Enhanced surveillance should be prioritized to ensure timely detection and standardized clinical management of imported cases, coupled with vector suppression during the peak mosquito activity season—so as to eliminate opportunity for re-establishment.
SN - 2235-2988
ER -