Int J Travel Med Glob Health. 2019 Mar;7(1):33-37 doi 10.15171/ijtmgh.2019.07 J http://ijtmgh.com IInternationalTMGH Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health Original Article Open Access Tribal Community Visit to Malaria-Endemic Areas Can Pose Risk to Car Nicobar Island: Deterrent for Malaria Elimination Zahid Ali Khan1, Ittoop Pulikkottil Sunish 1* 1Division of Medical Entomology, Regional Medical Research Centre-ICMR, Dollygunj, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744103, India Corresponding Author: Ittoop Pulikkottil Sunish, PhD, Division of Medical Entomology, Regional Medical Research Centre- ICMR, Post Bag No. 13, Dollygunj, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744103, India. Tel: +95-31954301, Email:
[email protected] Received November 15, 2018; Accepted February 16, 2019; Online Published March 4, 2019 Abstract Introduction: In the past 10 years, a declining trend was seen in the annual parasite incidence (API) of malaria in the Car Nicobar Island. For the past few years, the API in the island has been below one. Car Nicobar Island is struggling with malaria cases reported to have been brought from other, malaria-endemic islands. Methods: The movements of people were monitored by door-to-door visits during early morning hours, and the frequency of their movements to different islands (malarious and non-malarious areas) were monitored. Results: A larger number of villagers visited non-malarious areas (OS-O) than malarious areas (OS-N). The maximum number of people was found out of station during the month of June. Thirty-seven percent of people were out of the station to non-malarious areas, while only 6% were out of the station to islands endemic for malaria.