[Malaria situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran].

Iran initiated its first malaria control campaign in 1951. This made its almost all regions free of the disease, with the exception of the thinly populated south-eastern tropical part of Kerman. Four million (some 6%) people of the country reside in the south-eastern problem area with 17 922 positive cases and API 3.6 per 1,000. Implementing malaria control measures reduced the incidence of malaria from 145 cases per 100,000 in 1990 to 36 in 1999. In the south-east, Iran borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. The cross-border traffic in this area is a prime factor for persistence of the diseases. In addition, Iran has provided a shelter to 1.5-2 million Afghan refugees in the past years. The presence of local epidemics on the border of Iran with Armenia and Azerbaijan is another problem in controlling malaria.