The Epidemiology of Malaria in Colombia: a heretical view

Abstract Background: Studies on the long-term behavior of malaria are scarce in Colombia and, in general, are aimed at explaining this behavior from a perspective that adjusts to the function of the apparatuses responsible for the control of the disease, without applying a critical vision. Objective: To present epidemiological data on malaria in Colombia and to try to explain its long-term behavior from a point of view that questions the functionalist vision. Methodology: The data presented in this paper was collected in a non-systematic review. The authors sought to find data and arguments that sustain the criticism of the issues addressed. Results: The tendency of malarial morbidity, as expressed with the annual parasitic index adjusted for the exposed population, increased in the period 1935-2018. None of the ideological or administrative changes used in control or eradication programs has managed to affect this trend. Resistance: The supposed influence of the “resistance of parasites to medicines” and of anophelines to insecticides has been scarce and unimportant. Conclusions: the why of malarial morbidity behavior in Colombia should be studied thoroughly, systematically, and critically, giving priority to the study of the processes of social determination of the disease. Key words: Malaria, Plasmodium, epidemiología, Colombia.