Spatiotemporal Trends of Malaria in Relation to Economic Development and Cross-Border Movement along the China–Myanmar Border in Yunnan Province

The heterogeneity and complexity of malaria involves political and natural environments, socioeconomic development, cross-border movement, and vector biology; factors that cannot be changed in a short time. This study aimed to assess the impact of economic growth and cross-border movement, toward elimination of malaria in Yunnan Province during its pre-elimination phase. Malaria data during 2011–2016 were extracted from 18 counties of Yunnan and from 7 villages, 11 displaced person camps of the Kachin Special Region II of Myanmar. Data of per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) were obtained from Yunnan Bureau of Statistics. Data were analyzed and mapped to determine spatiotemporal heterogeneity at county and village levels. There were a total 2,117 malaria cases with 85.2% imported cases; most imported cases came from Myanmar (78.5%). Along the demarcation line, malaria incidence rates in villages/camps in Myanmar were significantly higher than those of the neighboring villages in China. The spatial and temporal trends suggested that increasing per-capita GDP may have an indirect effect on the reduction of malaria cases when observed at macro level; however, malaria persists owing to complex, multi-faceted factors including poverty at individual level and cross-border movement of the workforce. In moving toward malaria elimination, despite economic growth, cooperative efforts with neighboring countries are critical to interrupt local transmission and prevent reintroduction of malaria via imported cases. Cross-border workers should be educated in preventive measures through effective behavior change communication, and investment is needed in active surveillance systems and novel diagnostic and treatment services during the elimination phase.