The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is strengthening its surveillance and control system centered on border areas in northern Gyeonggi Province, aiming to eliminate malaria in the country by 2030. The agency plans to expand civilian-government-military cooperation in Paju and Gimpo, where patient cases are concentrated, and to fully implement a re-elimination strategy that includes asymptomatic infection management and an early diagnosis system.
The KDCA said Tuesday that it held a review meeting on the malaria re-elimination action plan at Imjingak in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, with related agencies including Gyeonggi Province, local governments, the military, and medical associations. KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-kwan attended in person to inspect patient management and the mosquito vector control system.
Since malaria re-emerged in Korea in 1993, 500 to 600 patients have been reported annually. As of last year, there were a total of 601 cases, with Gyeonggi Province accounting for the largest share at 321 patients (59%), followed by Incheon with 103, Seoul with 62, and Gangwon with 26.
About 95% of all patients are reported between May and October, when mosquito activity is most active. The KDCA has designated 49 cities and counties in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon as malaria risk areas and is currently monitoring mosquito vector density at 87 locations.
The meeting was attended by about 50 officials from related agencies, including Gyeonggi Province, the cities of Paju and Gimpo, Incheon's Seo-gu district, the Ministry of National Defense, the 1st Corps Command, the Gyeonggi Institute of Health and Environment, and the Paju City Medical Association. Participants discussed the status of patient cases in northern Gyeonggi, analysis of mosquito vector characteristics, and malaria response measures within the military.
Under the Second Malaria Re-elimination Action Plan, the KDCA plans to expand active surveillance, identify asymptomatic infections, strengthen early diagnosis and rapid treatment, and reinforce mosquito vector surveillance and control. At the site, the agency also reviewed the progress of the "Infected Red Blood Cell (iRBC)-based Malaria Early Diagnosis Project," in which 68 institutions nationwide are participating.
"We will actively link preemptive surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment to break the transmission chain between patients and mosquito vectors," Lim said. "We will do our best to achieve malaria elimination by 2030."
