Difficulties Confronting Malaria Eradication

Abstract

Summary The difficulties confronting malaria eradication may originate either in epidemiological problems, in the stage of development of the country concerned, or in conditions that involve the program. Physiological resistance and intense exophilism are the main problems connected with the vector. Human behavior constitutes an important obstacle more often than expected. In the Americas all countries are sufficiently developed for a malaria eradication program. But frequently difficulties due to human factors involving the programs are present. High health authorities, regular public health administrators, health planners and even ordinary epidemiologists, quite often misinterpret the natural history of malaria and cannot make the decisions needed for an efficient eradication program. Furthermore, younger malariologists feel that their profession may be a temporary one, and do not have the courage required for superior field work. The personnel policy may be at fault in not taking into consideration the hardships of work under rough field conditions.