Armenia

Until the 1950s, malaria was endemic in Armenia. In the 1920s and 1930s thousands of people were infected, and in 1934 alone, 200 000 cases were reported in the country. A large-scale eradication campaign initiated in the 1950s resulted in Armenia gaining malaria-free status in 1963. The first cases of autochthonous malaria (Plasmodium vivax) began to reappear in 1994. Case numbers peaked at 1156 in 1998.

The worsening of the situation in Armenia in the 1990s was due largely to the difficult economic situation, migration patterns and the deterioration of health services following the dissolution of the USSR. These circumstances, combined with shortages of essential drugs, equipment and insecticides, contributed to the weakening of surveillance and the resulting deterioration of the situation.

Owing to epidemic control interventions, the number of autochthonous malaria cases has continued to decrease in recent years. Since 2006, no P. vivax cases due to local transmission have been reported in the country. The epidemiological and entomological situations must be monitored closely, despite the interruption of transmission. Armenia attained malaria free status in 2011.

Anopheles maculipennis is the main malaria vector in the country. Others include An. sacharovi, An. hyrcanus, An. plumbeus and An. claviger.