Demographic and socioeconomic obstacles to access to malaria services for Myanmar migrants in Thailand.

Background: Typically mobile and vulnerable, migrants face significant barriers to access to routine malaria prevention, diagnostics and treatment, which leads to unchecked malaria transmission, particularly in border regions with a high population displacement. This study aimed to investigate the demographic and socioeconomic obstacles to access to malaria services among Myanmar migrants residing in the Thailand-Myanmar border areas.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in early 2024 across three districts near the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Malaria cross-sectional surveys identified asymptomatic infections of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium knowlesi in Surat Thani, a southern province of Thailand.

Objectives: Malaria cross-sectional surveys are rarely conducted in very low transmission settings. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of Plasmodium infection in a near-elimination setting in southern Thailand.

Methods: Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted in areas of active transmission in the Surat Thani province of Thailand in January and May 2019.