ORIGIN AND PREVENTION OF AIRPORT MALARIA IN FRANCE

Since 1969, 63 cases of airport malaria have been reported in Western Europe, 24 of which occurred in France. Most were due to Plasmodium fa lciparum. In 1994, 7 cases occurred in and around Roissy Charles de Ga ulle airport (CDG), showing 4 types of contamination: among employees working on airstrips or opening containers, among residents living nea r the airport, among people living at some distance from the airport a fter a secondary transport of vectors, and by vectors transported in l uggage. in-flight or stop-over infection is not considered as airport malaria. The infective anophelines originated from airports where mala ria transmission occurs, mostly in subsaharan Africa. A tentative list is given taking into account aerial traffic with France. Surveys in t he airports of Dakar (Senegal), Cotonou (Benin), Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoir e) and Yaounde (Cameroun) found potential vectors in all of these from July to September. After 1994, the Controle Sanitaire aux Frontieres (CSF) in charge at CDG concentrated its efforts on the flights at risk , as well as information and sensitization of airline companies, which resulted in 73% and 87% of the flights at risk being properly disinse cted in 1995 and 1996. Despite pyrethroid resistance-in Anopheles gamb iae s.s. in West Africa, the efficacy of aircraft spraying with permet hrin aerosols is still acceptable, However, surveillance of resistance should be improved and search for nonpyrethroid insecticides suitable for aircraft strongly encouraged.