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Background In malaria elimination settings, available metrics for malaria surveillance have been insufficient to measure the performance of passive case detection adequately. An indicator for malaria suspected cases with malaria test (MSCT) is proposed to measure the rate of testing on persons presenting to health facilities who satisfy the definition of a suspected malaria case. This metric does not rely on prior knowledge of fever prevalence, seasonality, or external denominators, and can be used to compare detection rates in suspected cases within and between countries, including across settings with different levels of transmission. Methods To compute the MSCT, an operational definition for suspected malaria cases was established, including clinical and epidemiological criteria. In general, suspected cases included: (1) persons with fever detected in areas with active malaria transmission; (2) persons with fever identified in areas with no active transmission and travel history to, or residence in areas with active transmission (either national or international); and (3) persons presenting with fever, chills and sweating from any area. Data was collected from 9 countries: Belize, Colombia (in areas with active transmission), Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama (September–March 2020). A sample of eligible medical records for 2018 was selected from a sample of health facilities in each country. An algorithm was constructed to assess if a malaria test was ordered or performed for cases that met the suspected case definition. Results A sample of 5873 suspected malaria cases was obtained from 239 health facilities. Except for Nicaragua and Colombia, malaria tests were requested in less than 10% of all cases. More cases were tested in areas with active transmission than areas without cases. Travel history was not systematically recorded in any country. Conclusions A statistically comparable, replicable, and standardized metric was proposed to measure suspected malaria cases with a test (microscopy or rapid diagnostic test) that enables assessing the performance of passive case detection. Cross-country findings have important implications for malaria and infectious disease surveillance, which should be promptly addressed as countries progress towards malaria elimination. Local and easy-to-implement tools could be implemented to assess and improve passive case detection.

Background In Japan, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major health concern due to its increasing prevalence and associated complications, including diabetic nephropathy and dialysis. Although the positive relationship between annual health checkups and health outcomes is well-documented, the impact of skipping health checkups on T2DM and its progression to dialysis remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the association between the frequency of annual health checkups and DM-related indices and the potential impact of early intervention in preventing dialysis. Methods The study included citizens aged ≥ 40 years from Nobeoka City, Japan ( n  = 22,094). Health checkup data from 2021 were analyzed, and participants were categorized into four groups based on their health checkup attendance between 2018 and 2020. Logistic regression analyses evaluated the association between health checkup frequency and DM-related indices, such as hemoglobin A1c and estimated glomerular filtration rate. These indices are used to diagnose DM and evaluate its severity. The time to dialysis for citizens without health checkups was estimated under untreated and treated scenarios using a previously published model. Results Among the 3,472 participants who underwent health checkups in 2021, 2,098 (60.4%) were women, and 1,374 (39.6%) were men. Citizens who missed health checkups for 3 consecutive years had a higher risk of T2DM than those who had annual checkups (odds ratio = 4.69, 95% confidence interval: 2.78–7.94). No significant difference was observed in T2DM rates between those who attended once or twice and those who attended annually. Simulations for high-risk citizens showed that 32 of 39 individuals may require dialysis during their lifetime; however, early intervention could prevent dialysis in 31 of them. Conclusions Citizens who skipped health checkups for 3 consecutive years or longer had a higher risk of T2DM, highlighting the need for targeted public interventions to prevent DM in this population.