{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,5]],"date-time":"2026-05-05T03:28:26Z","timestamp":1777951706963,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,31]],"date-time":"2026-01-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769817600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Malaria is a serious public health issue in Pakistan. This study investigated the spatiotemporal patterns, seasonal dynamics, and molecular confirmation of malaria in District Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from 2011 to 2017.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Clinical data were collected from the District Headquarters Hospital over 7 y. A random sample of 120 patients from 2017 was used for microscopic and molecular identification. Spatial-temporal patterns were analysed using ArcGIS (Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), Redlands, California, United States). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS (IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York, United States) and R software (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Of 41\u2009863 tests, 6246 were positive, yielding an overall test positivity rate of 14.92%. Males (58.89%) were more affected than females. The highest proportion of cases was in the 1\u201320-y age group. The annual test positive rate declined from 32.97% in 2011 to 10.77% in 2017. Seasonally, autumn had the highest case proportion (46.73%); winter the lowest (7.09%). Spatial analysis identified Gharhi, Dargai and Haryankot as high-burden areas. Inverse distance weighting highlighted these as hotspots for potential transmission. PCR confirmed microscopy-based species identification.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Malaria in Malakand peaks in autumn, affecting males and individuals aged &amp;lt;20 y most. Neighbouring villages are at risk from hyper-endemic areas. Microscopy remains a dependable diagnostic tool here.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/trstmh\/traf145","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,29]],"date-time":"2025-12-29T12:26:55Z","timestamp":1767011215000},"page":"461-471","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Spatial Distribution, seasonal dynamics and molecular confirmation of malaria in District Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"120","author":[{"given":"Rabia","family":"Rabia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Quaid e Azam University Department of Animal Sciences, , Islamabad 45320 ,","place":["Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2582-1767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wasia","family":"Ullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Abdul Wali Khan University Department of Zoology, , Mardan 23300, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ,","place":["Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1186\/s12936-025-05313-w","article-title":"Spatial distribution of malaria among under-five children and associated factors in Tanzania: a spatial and multilevel analysis","volume":"24","author":"Animut","year":"2025;","journal-title":"Malar J"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e33","DOI":"10.1017\/S0950268825000111","article-title":"Impact of temperatures on malaria incidence in vulnerable regions of Pakistan: empirical evidence and future projections","volume":"153","author":"Fatima","year":"2025","journal-title":"Epidemiol Infect"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026050406270870800_bib3","first-page":"1","article-title":"Spatial distribution of malaria and its vectors in selected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan","volume":"8","author":"Noreen","year":"2023;","journal-title":"NUST J Nat Sci"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026050406270870800_bib4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1007\/s44197-024-00189-6","article-title":"Dynamics of malaria incidence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: unveiling rapid growth patterns and forecasting future trends","volume":"14","author":"Khan","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Epidemiol Glob Health"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib5","first-page":"1192","article-title":"Detection of plasmodium falciparum infection in Anopheles stephensi in Punjab, Pakistan","volume":"47","author":"Oneeb","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pak J Zool"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.1007\/s12038-008-0076-x","article-title":"Malaria in India: challenges and opportunities","volume":"33","author":"Dash","year":"2008;","journal-title":"J Biosci."},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib7","first-page":"54","article-title":"Significant reduction of malaria in the Punjab, Pakistan after introduction of roll back malaria strategy in 2003","volume":"22","author":"Rana","year":"2012","journal-title":"Med Forum Mon"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"68","DOI":"10.1186\/s12936-015-0574-x","article-title":"Re-examining environmental correlates of plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity: a data-intensive variable selection approach","volume":"14","author":"Weiss","year":"2015;","journal-title":"Malar J"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib9","first-page":"28132","article-title":"The case for a \u201cone health\u201d approach to combating vector-borne diseases","volume":"5","author":"Faburay","year":"2015","journal-title":"Infect Ecol Epidemiol"},{"key":"2026050406270870800_bib10","first-page":"1","volume-title":"Global Malaria Programme. 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