In a country where speed is emphasized as a way of life, it is uncommon to talk about Korea being slow at doing something. However, this is the case with malaria treatment in the country, as Korean physicians lack experience due to the relatively low annual caseload.
Unlike Korea, malaria generally has high prevalence in tropical and subtropical areas, particularly in the African region. This is due to climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall, which create an environment conducive to the transmission of the parasite by Anopheles mosquitoes.
The most recent statistics from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) indicate that the weekly average number of cases over the last five years is 13. Despite these small numbers, the cases have shown an increasing trend from 294 cases in 2021 to 420 cases last year and further increasing to a cumulative total of 626 in 2023 so far.
Recently, a Ugandan male national in his late 20s shared his story about a recent encounter he had in a Korean hospital after contracting malaria. He first started experiencing chills with high fever symptoms of 40 degrees Celsius but was tossed around to different clinics without checking for malaria or typhoid, despite informing his doctors of his recent travel history to Uganda. He was given medicine and sent home.
Two days later, he was in immense pain and rushed to Korea University Anam Hospital by ambulance where he was admitted the following day but was only diagnosed and treated for malaria four days later.
Acknowledging the lack of expertise of physicians in Korea in treating malaria, the KDCA furnished revised guidelines in July in collaboration with the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, the Korean Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine to increase diagnosis and allow proper treatment of malaria in Korea for healthcare professionals.
The malaria treatment guide is based on the latest domestic and international guidelines which focus on point-of-care applications for healthcare professionals, and provide standardized treatment for adults, children, and high-risk groups, such as pregnant women. It also provides information on the use of antimalarial drugs, covering types, administration methods, dosages, and the characteristics of each type of malaria.
However, the revised guideline is still missing the mark.
It should include a protocol for quicker treatment of individuals who have a recent travel history from a country that has a high prevalence of malaria diseases like Uganda. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines recommend swift treatment since malaria can be potentially fatal..
Additionally, the latest World Malaria Report in 2022 suggests that four countries accounted for almost half of all cases including Nigeria (26.6 percent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.3 percent), Uganda (5.1 percent), and Mozambique (4.1 percent) in 2021. Yet, the Ugandan national was told by his doctors that their protocol was to check for malaria on admission if the patient experiencing the malaria-like symptoms visited Southeast Asian countries but as Uganda was not considered a high-risk country for malaria, they required a regional public health agency approval to perform the malaria tests.
Consequently, this protocol resulted in a hefty bill for the Ugandan who is currently studying in Korea. He reported that his bill was almost 2 million won (approximately $1400) after insurance as a result of unnecessary and expensive imaging tests such as computer tomography (CT) and X-ray.
However, early detection of malaria upon admission could have substantially reduced imaging costs and fever-reduction medication expenses, making a significant difference for a student whose bill exceeded his monthly stipend.