The Epidemiology of Malaria in Kutubu, Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, before and during a Private Sector Initiative for Malaria Control

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a significant malaria burden, is resource constrained, and has isolated populations with limited access to health services. Home-based management is a key element of the national program that supports strategies of early detection, diagnosis and treatment. We describe the epidemiology of malaria near Lake Kutubu in the Southern Highlands Province through reported data on suspected and confirmed malaria in patients accessing public health facilities or using a novel, incentivised, social marketing approach for malaria treatment at the village level. Monthly case data reported by nine health facilities and 14 village-based providers, known as Marasin Stoa Kipas (MSK), were extracted from outpatient registers and MSK malaria case forms. Descriptive statistics of diagnostic use, monthly incidence, test positivity rate and species distribution were estimated. Summary statistics of service delivery demonstrate patient access and diagnostic coverage in program areas. From May 2005 to September 2013, 15,726 individuals were tested with either rapid diagnostic test and/or microscopy at health facilities, and 42% had a positive result for malaria (n = 6604); of these 67.1% (n = 4431) were positive for P. falciparum (alone or mixed) and 32.9% were positive for non-P. falciparum species (alone or mixed). From October 2007 to September 2013, 9687 individuals were tested with either RDT and/or microscopy at MSK sites and 44.2% (n = 4283) tested positive for malaria; of these, 65.3% (n = 2796) were positive for P. falciparum, while 34.7% (n = 1487) were positive for non-P. falciparum species. Up to April 2010 there was an intermittent and upward trend in the reported incidence of all species of confirmed malaria, reaching 50 per 1000 population per month for both sites combined, followed by a steady decline to four per 1000 population per month in 2013, with P. vivax the most common infection. This study is the most recent longitudinal overview of malaria in the Southern Highlands since 2003. It outlines patient access to a community-based model of care. The analysis shows changes in health facility versus MSK use, a strongly decreasing trend in incidence of confirmed malaria from 2010 to 2013, and a shift from predominantly P. falciparum to P. vivax infection.