Table 1 Patient characteristics and data by region of birth
Characteristics of malaria cases | Total | Born in malaria-endemic area | Born in Finland or other non-endemic area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of travellers | 265 | 144 (54%) | 121 (46%) | |
Age in years, median (range) | 31(1-71) | 29 (1-71) | 37 (0-71) | |
Sex (male) | 187(71%) | 110 (76%) | 77 (64%) | |
Country of residence | Malaria-endemic area | 36(14%) | 22 (15%) | 14 (12%) |
Finland or other non-endemic area | 229(86%) | 122 (85%) | 107 (88%) | |
Duration of travel in days 1 , median (IQR) 2 | 33(16-92) | 32 (23-68) | 35 (14-151) | |
Geographic region where malaria was contracted | Sub-Saharan Africa | 214(81%) | 126 (88%) | 88 (73%) |
Central Asia and Indian subcontinent | 19 (7%) | 7 (5%) | 12 (10%) | |
Southeast Asia | 18 (7%) | 7 (5%) | 11 (9%) | |
South and Central America and Caribbean | 8 (3%) | 1 | 7 (6%) | |
Other (North Africa, Oceania) | 6 (2%) | 3 (2%) | 3 (2%) | |
Reason for travel | Visiting friends and relatives | 78 (29%) | 76 (53%) | 2 (2%) 3 |
Finnish resident, tourism | 66 (25%) | 2 (1%) | 64 (53%) | |
Recently arrived immigrant | 39 (15%) | 38 (26%)4 | 1 (1%) | |
Foreign visitor | 28 (11%) | 23 (16%) | 5 (4%) | |
Expatriate | 28 (11%) | 2 (1%) | 26 (21%) | |
Finnish resident, work/education | 26 (10%) | 3 (2%) | 23 (19%) | |
Received pre-travel advice 5 | 102/209(49%) | 19/97 (20%) | 83/112 (81%) | |
Used appropriate chemoprophylaxis regularly 6 | 13 (5%) | 0 | 13 (11%) | |
Onset of symptoms after leaving malaria-endemic area in days 7 , median (IQR) 2 | 6 (1-15) | 3 (1-13) | 8 (2-19) | |
Duration of symptoms before first contact with healthcare in days 8 , median (IQR) 2 | 3 (1-5) | 3 (1-5) | 2.5 (1-4) |