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Health: 28 cases of malaria since the beginning of the year in Reunion Island
Published on April 29, 2026 at 08:55
Updated on April 29, 2026 at 11:21
Since 2022, Public Health France has observed an increase in the annual number of reported cases of imported malaria in Réunion. Between January 1, 2024, and March 31, 2026, 109 cases were reported. As of the beginning of 2026, a total of 28 cases have already been reported, while the annual average is normally 20 cases. (Illustrative photo: www.imazpress.com)
After a steady decline since 2000, a historically low number of reported cases in Réunion was reached in 2016 (12 cases). In subsequent years, excluding 2020 and 2021 when the Covid-19 pandemic drastically limited international travel, the number of reported imported malaria cases has fluctuated around 20 per year.
Since 2022, there has been an increase in the annual number of reported cases, with 46 reported in 2024 and 35 in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, 28 cases had already been reported. Over the surveillance period covered by this bulletin (from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026), 109 cases were reported.
This increase occurred within a general context of rising malaria cases in the region (Comoros, Madagascar). In Mayotte, for example, after an absence of autochthonous cases since July 2020, locally acquired cases were reported in 2025.
Imported malaria is a notifiable disease.
In Réunion, indigenous malaria was eliminated in 1979. Since then, imported cases have been recorded every year with a marked decrease since 2011 following measures put in place in neighbouring countries through national control programmes.
However, malaria remains endemic in several countries in the Indian Ocean region with which there is a lot of trade (including the Union of the Comoros and Madagascar) and epidemic outbreaks are frequent.
In Mayotte, after an absence of local transmission since 2020, local cases were again reported in 2025 (5 cases) and in 2026, 5 confirmed cases with suspected local acquisition are under investigation.
Autochthonous transmission from an imported case cannot be totally excluded, given the presence of a competent mosquito vector (Anopheles arabiensis) in some areas of the island.
Regarding malaria in Réunion, the priorities are based on effective prevention during a stay in an endemic area (repellent measures AND appropriate chemoprophylaxis) and on rapid diagnosis and treatment upon return from a malaria-endemic area.
Each confirmed case must be immediately reported by the biologist or physician to the Health Signal Monitoring, Alert and Management Unit of the ARS Réunion (Regional Health Agency of Réunion).
https://imazpress.com/toute-l-actu/paludisme-2
Health: 28 cases of malaria since the beginning of the year in Reunion Island
Published on April 29, 2026 at 08:55
Updated on April 29, 2026 at 11:21
Since 2022, Public Health France has observed an increase in the annual number of reported cases of imported malaria in Réunion. Between January 1, 2024, and March 31, 2026, 109 cases were reported. As of the beginning of 2026, a total of 28 cases have already been reported, while the annual average is normally 20 cases. (Illustrative photo: www.imazpress.com)
After a steady decline since 2000, a historically low number of reported cases in Réunion was reached in 2016 (12 cases). In subsequent years, excluding 2020 and 2021 when the Covid-19 pandemic drastically limited international travel, the number of reported imported malaria cases has fluctuated around 20 per year.
Since 2022, there has been an increase in the annual number of reported cases, with 46 reported in 2024 and 35 in 2025. In the first quarter of 2026, 28 cases had already been reported. Over the surveillance period covered by this bulletin (from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026), 109 cases were reported.
This increase occurred within a general context of rising malaria cases in the region (Comoros, Madagascar). In Mayotte, for example, after an absence of autochthonous cases since July 2020, locally acquired cases were reported in 2025.
Imported malaria is a notifiable disease.
In Réunion, indigenous malaria was eliminated in 1979. Since then, imported cases have been recorded every year with a marked decrease since 2011 following measures put in place in neighbouring countries through national control programmes.
However, malaria remains endemic in several countries in the Indian Ocean region with which there is a lot of trade (including the Union of the Comoros and Madagascar) and epidemic outbreaks are frequent.
In Mayotte, after an absence of local transmission since 2020, local cases were again reported in 2025 (5 cases) and in 2026, 5 confirmed cases with suspected local acquisition are under investigation.
Autochthonous transmission from an imported case cannot be totally excluded, given the presence of a competent mosquito vector (Anopheles arabiensis) in some areas of the island.
Regarding malaria in Réunion, the priorities are based on effective prevention during a stay in an endemic area (repellent measures AND appropriate chemoprophylaxis) and on rapid diagnosis and treatment upon return from a malaria-endemic area.
Each confirmed case must be immediately reported by the biologist or physician to the Health Signal Monitoring, Alert and Management Unit of the ARS Réunion (Regional Health Agency of Réunion).
https://imazpress.com/toute-l-actu/paludisme-2