Decades of research supporting malaria control and elimination in China: a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published in Chinese from 1980 to 2019

Decades of research supporting malaria control and elimination in China: a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published in Chinese from 1980 to 2019 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Decades of research supporting malaria control and elimination in China: a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published in Chinese from 1980 to 2019 Yan-Qiu Du, Guo-Ding Zhu, Jun Cao, Jia-Yan Huang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-90710/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Mar, 2021 Read the published version in Malaria Journal → Version 2 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Background: China has accumulated a lot of experience on malaria control and elimination in the past few decades. Many research papers have been published in Chinese journals. This study intends to obtain the development path and experience of malaria control and elimination in China by quantitatively analyzing these local journals based on the bibliometric analysis. Methods: A long-term, multi-stage bibliometric analysis was implemented. Research articles published in Chinese journals from 1980 to 2019 were retrieved from Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Year of publication, journal name and keywords were extracted by the Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB). We defined the K/A ratio (the percentage of a keyword frequency in the number of articles within a certain period) as an indicator for measuring the popularity of a keyword in different decades. And we used the software VOSviewer to make keyword co-occurrence network maps. Results: A total of 16,290 articles were included. The overall trend of articles continues to rise. However, the articles published in the past three years had continued to decline. There are two kinds of trends of the keyword frequency between different decades. The K/A ratio of keywords such as ‘ Plasmodium falciparum ’ continued to decline (17.05% in 1980s, 13.04% in 1990s, 9.86% in 2000s, 5.28% in 2010s), but ‘imported case’ and ‘surveillance’ continued to rise. Drug resistance always was a concern. The keyword co-occurrence network maps showed that the themes in malaria research were becoming more diverse, and the degree of multidisciplinary cooperation was gradually deepening. Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis reveals the trends in malaria research in China over the past 40 years. The results suggest the high attention on the investigation, multidisciplinary participation and drug resistance for researchers and policymakers in malaria-epidemic areas. And the results also provided domestic experts with qualitative evidence for the summary of China's experience on malaria control and elimination. Infectious Diseases Malaria Plasmodium Anopheles Academic Articles Bibliometric Analysis Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Background From the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 to zero indigenous case in 2017. The nationwide process of the elimination has be grouped into five phases by some researchers, namely, transmission not known (1949–1959), outbreak and pandemic transmission (1960–1979), decline with sporadic distribution (1980–1999), low transmission with re-emergence in central China (2000–2009), elimination phase (2010 to present) [1, 2]. In different phases, prevention and control strategies are constantly being promoted, such as, joint malaria prevention and control that lasted more than half a century, ‘1-3-7’ malaria surveillance and response strategy as key intervention to deal with imported cases and indigenous cases [3, 4]. The continuous evolution of the strategies has ensured progress in the elimination. And these strategies are documented in the form of research publications. In the last 40 years, a large number of research articles on malaria have been published in Chinese journals. Actually, it is necessary to systematically review the existing Chinese academic articles. The information and experiences contained in the academic research process would be a great reference to those areas that are still struggling with malaria, such as the trend of research hotspots. Although this information may not directly provide ready-made solutions or strategies for other countries, it can contribute for researchers and policy makers to predicting potential problems in the next phase, shortening the adjustment time of research direction, and reducing the trial and error cost in the development of strategies and technologies. In recent years, some researches tried to sum up the experience in this process and explore the value for other countries. But most of these researches focus on local epidemiological data, prevention measures and effects [3, 5-7]. This research aims to analyze the articles published in Chinese journals, based on the a quantitative method, bibliometric analysis [8]. The bibliometric analysis is widely used in various research fields (food, medicine etc.) [9-11]. In malaria research field, this method is also accepted by researchers in many countries, such as, analyses of malaria researches in China, India, Malawi, worldwide malaria vector resistance and antimalaria drug resistance [12-16]. But all of these analyses, as conventional bibliometric analyses, tend to analyze the articles by static description (like taking a photo) rather than dynamic comparison (like taking photos and making stop motion animation). So there is few quantitative evidence that reveal the changing process between the decades. To fill in this gap, this research conducted a long-term, multi-stage bibliometric analysis of the malaria-related academic articles published in the past 40 years to reveal the changes in the research themes and keyword hotspots in China, which may show more macro information than conventional bibliometric analysis. Methods The methods involved in this study mainly is bibliometric analysis. The overall research framework and the software tools involved were showed in Figure 1. Included and excluded standard The search was conducted on 2 February 2020. Two major Chinese literature databases, Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), were searched. The inclusion criteria were: Chinese articles were published in journals from 1980 to 2019; at least one of the following Chinese words, ‘malaria’, ‘plasmodium’, and ‘anopheles’, was included in the title or keywords [12, 13, 17]. Exclusion criteria were: articles without keyword; repetitive articles in two databases. The articles with the same publication year, title, and authors were defined as repetitive in this research. Software NoteExpress (Version 3.2, Aegean Technology Co,. Ltd, Beijing, China) was used to manage and deduplicate the bibliography information. Data extraction This study first analyzed all articles in the 40-year span as a whole and conducted a descriptive analysis according to the methods of conventional bibliometric analysis, including publication year, journal distribution, and highly cited articles. Then a comparative analysis was conducted between different decades. The 40-year span was divided into 4 stages, the first stage was from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 1989, the second stage (1990-1999), the third stage (2000-2009), the fourth stage (2010-2019). This time division followed the consensus of Chinese domestic malaria experts and the principle of the same time span [1, 2]. All the bibliographic information of articles included was exported into a format that can be used by the bibliometric analysis software according to the stage. Keyword frequency analysis The Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB) software (version 2.0, School of Medical Information, China Medical University, Shenyang, China) was used to extract and count the publication year, journal distribution, and keyword frequency [15]. It was a software developed by the Medical Information Department of China Medical University. It had good compatibility with Chinese journals. And it could replace the keywords with synonyms as one keyword we defined. For example, ‘imported case’ and ‘imported patient’ would be unified into ‘imported case’. This study defined ‘K/A ratio’ as the percentage of a keyword frequency in the number of articles within a certain period. The absolute frequencies of keywords in different stages could not be directly compared. The K/A ratio eliminated the impact of the difference in the total number of journal articles in different stages. It was used as an indicator to compare the popularity of the same keyword in different stages. For showing the top 100 keywords in each stage, the word clouds were built [18]. Microsoft Excel was used to calculate and display the change trend of the K/A ratio. A heat map was produced based on the rank of K/A ratio. Keyword co-occurrence network and clustering VOSviewer (version 1.6.11, Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands) was used to make four keyword co-occurrence network maps in different stages. It was a software tool for creating maps based on network data and for visualizing and exploring these maps [19]. This software can achieve the merger of keywords with synonyms and the replacement of Chinese to English according to the ‘thesaurus terms’ file (a txt file in a specific format for VOSviewer), which was translated and reviewed by two researchers. For co-occurrence analysis, if keyword A and keyword B were the keywords of one articles, we defined this relationship between A and B as a co-occurrence [8]. The network developed based on such relationship was a keyword co-occurrence network. In a network map, a node represented a keyword, and its’ size was related to the occurrence frequency of the keyword. The node color represented different cluster that they belonged to. Links represented co-occurrence relationships. For comparability among the network maps in different stages, the parameters in VOSviewer were set consistently as: the keywords with a frequency of more than 15 times were showed in maps; each cluster contained at least 5 keywords. Based on this setting, keywords were grouped into different clusters according to co-occurrence. Then the clusters in the network maps of four stages were compared with each other. Results In this research, 14,963 articles were retrieved in the CNKI, and 9,950 articles were retrieved in Wanfang. A total of 24,913 articles were saved in NoteExpress for exclusion and deduplication. 1,082 articles without keyword were excluded. Most of them were notices, announcements and news on the topic of malaria published in academic journals. 7,752 articles were excluded due to repetitive (Fig.2). Publication distribution From January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2019, a total of 16,290 articles related to malaria research were published in Chinese academic journals. As shown in Figure 3, in the 1980s and 1990s, the number of articles showed a volatile increase, from 2,768 to 4,786. In the 2000s, there was a gradual and slight decline from 2003 to 2010. In the last ten years, the number of articles showed a slight increase at first. But for the three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, the annual decline exceeded 10%. The top 15 journals with the most cumulative articles published in past 40 years were listed in Table 1. Articles related to malaria research were mainly published in professional journals in the fields of parasitic diseases, tropical diseases and infectious diseases. Table 1 Top 15 journals with the most publications Rank Journal Records % of total Cumulative % 1 International Journal of Medical Parasitic Diseases 2,126 13.22 13.22 2 Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases 1,207 7.51 20.73 3 Journal of Parasitic Biology 1,113 6.92 27.65 4 China Tropical Medicine 699 4.35 32.00 5 Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control 462 2.87 34.87 6 Parasitoses and Infectious Diseases 433 2.69 37.56 7 Chinese Journal of Vector Biology and Control 275 1.71 39.27 8 Journal of Medical Pest Control 274 1.70 40.98 9 Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 240 1.49 42.47 10 Journal of Tropical Medicine 197 1.23 43.70 11 Henan Journal of Preventive Medicine 192 1.19 44.89 12 Hainan Medical Journal 166 1.03 45.92 13 Acta Parasitological et Medica Entomological Sinica 138 0.86 46.78 14 Chinese Journal of Public Health 131 0.81 47.60 15 Modern Preventive Medicine 126 0.78 48.38 Note：International Journal of Medical Parasitic Diseases was suspended in 2015 High-cited articles and authorships The highly cited articles in each stage that counted by CNKI database were showed in additional file [see Additional file 1]. The deadline for citation counting was February 2, 2020. The citation frequency of high-cited articles varied greatly in each stage, and the theme represented by articles also varied greatly. In the 1980s, the most cited articles mainly focused on Anopheles; in the 1990s, the themes increased, but the antimalarial drugs and vectors were still the main ones; in 2000s and 2010s, there were more citation to the epidemic analysis; but in the past ten years, retrospective and summary research articles received more attention. Most of the authors of highly cited articles were from national or provincial institute of parasitic diseases and centers for disease control and prevention. According to the frequency of the author affiliation, the top 5 institutions in different stages were shown in Table 2. National and provincial institutes of parasitic disease occupied most of the top 5 positions in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, followed by universities. Table 2 Top 5 institutions with the most author frequency Years No. Institute Frequency 1980s 1 Henan Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station 36 2 Yunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease 30 3 Liaoning Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station 15 4 Sun Yat-sen University 12 5 Hainan Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station 11 1990s 1 Guangdong Institute of Parasitic Disease 47 2 Shandong Institute of Parasitic Disease 29 3 Sun Yat-sen University 29 4 Hainan Institute of Parasitic Disease 28 5 Yunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease 23 2000s 1 Yunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease 80 2 National Institute of Parasitic Disease 77 3 Sun Yat-sen University 48 4 China Medical University 47 5 Third Military Medical University 44 2010s 1 National Institute of Parasitic Disease 94 2 China Medical University 62 3 Second Military Medical University 42 4 Guangxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention 30 5 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences 28 Keyword frequency analysis The word clouds of different stages (Fig.3) reveal the following features: 1) falciparum malaria, vivax malaria were the main types of malaria in China; 2) Anopheles sinensis was main malaria vector; 3) imported cases, surveillance and elimination had come at the forefront of concerns in the fourth stage. For the analysis of single keyword, the keyword ‘ Plasmodium falciparum ’, it maintained the fourth rank in the first three stages, but its’ K/A ratio had been in a state of decline, 17.05% in 1980s, 13.04% in 1990s, 9.86% in 2000s. The keyword ‘falciparum malaria’, it’s frequency rank rose from seventh in 1980s to fourth in 2010s, but its’ K/A ratio declined from 12.97% in 1980s to 7.82% in 2010s. These results suggested that there were some common patterns in the change of K/A ratio. The heat map (Fig.4a) showed two obvious change pattern of K/A ratio from an overall perspective. It clearly showed that the K/A ratio of some keywords continuously decreased, and some continuously increased (Fig.4b and Fig.4c). Keywords in continuous decrease of K/A ratio were ‘internal medicine’, ‘ Plasmodium falciparum ’, ‘vivax malaria’, ‘falciparum malaria’, ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, ‘antimalaria drugs’, etc. Keywords in continuous increase included ‘imported case’, ‘surveillance’, ‘artemisinin’, ‘floating population’, ‘epidemiological characteristic’, ‘elimination’, etc. In essence, these two patterns were the manifestation of the research theme change. Keywords co-occurrence network Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 were the maps of keyword co-occurrence network in four stages. According to the strength of the co-occurrence relationship, 157 keywords were divided into 5 clusters in 1980s, 205 keywords into 6 clusters in 1990s, 170 keywords into 5 clusters in 2000s, 114 keywords into 7 clusters in 2010s [more information see Additional file 2]. These clusters were considered as research themes, and each theme could be divided into sub-themes according to the subjects that were represented by specific keywords in the cluster. From the perspective of whole network maps of four stages, in 1980s (Fig.5), the blue cluster was centered on ‘Anopheles’ and included keyword ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, ‘ Anopheles anthropophagus ’ and ‘ Anopheles minimus ’. And the same situation occurred in 1990s (Fig 6, green cluster). This two clusters had obvious boundaries with other clusters in their own networks. This result indicated that researches on Anopheles had high independence. But in 2000s, this kind of independence became weak. And in 2010s (Fig.8), this kind of independence was disappeared. The boundaries of clusters were difficult to identify. For the analysis of the network structure among the clusters, the boundaries between two clusters in one stage became more and more blurred, especially in 2010s (Fig.8). Figure 8 also showed that many main nodes in one clusters are also intermediaries with other clusters. This result suggested that the relationship between research themes is no longer the weak connection due to sub-themes’ co-occurrence in the past, but a strong connection that emerged from the deep integration of the subjects and research methods. From the perspective of the cluster in different network maps, in the blue cluster in 1980s (Fig.5), the peripheral keywords, which were around the central keyword ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, included ‘retention spray’, ‘ecological habit’, ‘life history’, etc. However, in the blue clusters in 2010s (Fig.8), peripheral keywords around the central keyword ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, included ‘surveillance’, ‘drug resistance’, etc. It was found that the keywords that represented the research object, such as ‘falciparum malaria’, ‘ Plasmodium falciparum ’, ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, were always the central keywords in different stages. But peripheral keywords, which represented the research fields, around central keywords changed. For ‘ Anopheles sinensis ’, in 1980s, the research direction was entomology. In 2010s, the research direction was insect vector control. So this result indicated that the research direction around the central keywords was changing with the process of malaria elimination. For the analysis at node level, in all four keyword co-occurrence network maps, some nodes in one cluster only had co-occurrence with the nodes inside this cluster, and other nodes had co-occurrence with multiple nodes outside this cluster. Under this common feature, there were differences in details, such as the link density between nodes. In figure 7, we clearly observed that the network of green clusters looks more complex than the red clusters on the premise that the number of nodes is not much different between the red clusters and the green clusters. This result indicated that the co-occurrence between the nodes in the green cluster was more divergent, while the co-occurrence relationship between the nodes in the red cluster was more directional. This meant that the sub-themes represented by the nodes in the red cluster have a high degree of independence. Discussion In summary, the change of high-frequency keywords and networks reflected the needs and research hotspots at different stages. The researches centered on these hotspots provided evidence for the prevention and control strategies. And this research indicated four trends that Chinese article publication presented from a long-term perspective. The academic researches led by domestic institutes of parasitic disease had never been interrupted from control to elimination phase. The change of research theme was related to the need for malaria control (elimination) at different stages. Multidisciplinary participation became a trend especially after local transmission was blocked. Drug resistance had always been a focus. However, these trends were difficult to compare with other countries. Mainly because there were only two bibliometric analysis publications of the same scale on malaria research in journals: Upasana’s research in India from 1909 to 2019 [12], Chikondi’s research in Malawi from 1984 to 2016 [13]. And they both described and analyzed the research period as a whole, there was no staged comparison. But the results about the author affiliation in Chikondi’s research could be compared with the result in this research. In Malawi, Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust, a politically and financially independent global charitable foundation was the most frequent author affiliation (30%), followed by University of Malawi (20%). In China, national and provincial institutes of parasitic disease, as public institutions fully funded by the government, were the author affiliations with the most occurrences. This difference involved a fact that some government agencies in China were involved in malaria researches, and also participated in the daily operations of public health programs as manager. This organization setting shortened the time required to transform research evidence into national or local strategies. The consistency was actually observed between research themes and national strategic plans, such as National Malaria Control Plan (5 government documents from 1983 to 2015), China Malaria Elimination Action Plan (2010-2020). Publication decline in Chinese journals and international journals In this research, the sharp decline was observed in the number of Chinese articles published in recent years (more than 10% per year). There was also a decline of articles that were published in international journal with Chinese participation in 2019 [20]. With the elimination of malaria in China, the decline in malaria research was an inevitable trend. However, for the global elimination of malaria, how to make full use of the value of domestic researchers with rich experience should be a concern for policymakers. Continuous epidemiological investigations and surveillance The highly cited articles and Top 100 keywords among four stages indicate that whether in the control or elimination phase, epidemiological investigations and surveillance have always been given considerable attention in China. Epidemiological Investigation and surveillance help epidemiologists obtain basic information about malaria cases or plasmodium, such as the breeding ground of the vector, the source of imported cases, and the possibility of re-transmission [4]. This information helps to develop targeted interventions. In the 1980s, the main subjects of the investigations were vectors and transmission patterns [21-23]. In 2001, nationwide epidemiological investigation reports of malaria case began to be published [24]. In the 2010s, epidemiological investigations of imported cases were implemented in many provinces and border regions [25-28]. Although the subjects of the investigation have changed, the emphasis on the investigation has never weakened. In essence, this reflects that the development, adjustment, and termination of China's anti-malarial strategies always base on local epidemic and other evidences. The need for multidisciplinary participation The diversification of keyword co-occurrence networks indicates the general improvement of multidisciplinary participation which is needed to optimize large-scale social mobilization. Malaria elimination is a long-term project that requires continuous input, even when the epidemic trend has been reduced from sporadic to no local transmission. Actually, large-scale social mobilization is the most valuable and sustainable input. In China, social mobilization involves not only joint prevention and control between different regions [29, 30], but also cooperation between different administrative departments, such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, and Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. But the closer to the realization of elimination, the more precise case tracking and patient management are needed. The greater the need for preventive measures for a wider range of healthy people is, the higher the cost is. For such a large-scale social mobilization, how to make it efficient and precise is a problem. To solve this problem, multidisciplinary participation is inevitable, including Social Management, Education, Journalism and Communication, Evaluation of Healthcare Program, International Relations, etc. Multidisciplinary participation would help to design more efficient, low-cost and targeted interventions from multiple nodes in the transmission path. Therefore, large-scale social mobilization and multidisciplinary participation should be encouraged as much as possible in other regions for the development of malaria strategy. Limitation This study has two limitations. First, the Chinese journal databases do not allow users to download the reference information. So we did not make a co-citation analysis. Second, this study focuses on the comparison of different stages. The details in a single stage are not fully displayed. And there are many sub-topic analysis that can be implemented. Therefore, we would like to share the original data (the bibliographic information of 16,290 articles) analyzed in this study with other researchers to jointly dig these data and explore the potential value. Conclusion This study reveals the trends in the research themes and hotspots in malaria field in past 40 years. The reveal of these trends could help researchers in other malaria epidemic areas to fully understand the research process of malaria elimination strategy and technology. And the results also provided domestic experts with qualitative evidence for the summary of China's experience on malaria control and elimination. More important than these results are that this research would let researchers and policy makers aware of the importance of the investigation, surveillance, and multidisciplinary participation. Abbreviations BICOMB = Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder CNKI = China National Knowledge Infrastructure K/A ratio = Keyword/Articles ratio Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Availability of data and materials The datasets during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding This study was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2020YFC1200105), the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology (BE2018020), and the Jiangsu Provincial Project of Invigorating Health Care through Science, Technology and Education. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Authors’ contributions YD, GZ, JC, and JH conceived and designed the study. 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Supplementary Files Additionalfile10103.xlsx Additional file 1.xlsx Top 10 articles with high citation frequency in four stages Additionalfile20103.xlsx Additional file 2.xlsx Detail information about the maps of keyword co-occurrence network output by VOSviewer Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 20 Mar, 2021 Read the published version in Malaria Journal → Version 2 posted Editorial decision: Minor Revision 02 Feb, 2021 Reviewer # 3 agreed at journal 24 Jan, 2021 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 24 Jan, 2021 Review # 2 received at journal 24 Jan, 2021 Review # 3 received at journal 24 Jan, 2021 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 21 Jan, 2021 Review # 1 received at journal 21 Jan, 2021 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Jan, 2021 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jan, 2021 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jan, 2021 Editor invited by journal 18 Jan, 2021 You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-90710","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":8590256,"identity":"b2e9ceea-1263-4e9a-9a18-8c5478fee70b","order_by":0,"name":"Yan-Qiu Du","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Fudan University School of Public Health","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yan-Qiu","middleName":"","lastName":"Du","suffix":""},{"id":8590257,"identity":"2c2dc51e-80ad-46f7-9739-d0ee7d4a44ab","order_by":1,"name":"Guo-Ding Zhu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Guo-Ding","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":8590258,"identity":"68f3f63d-3577-4a14-9e1c-8d9cd1faddf8","order_by":2,"name":"Jun Cao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jun","middleName":"","lastName":"Cao","suffix":""},{"id":8590259,"identity":"3b638af5-657e-45ee-a853-feedf00d0ea2","order_by":3,"name":"Jia-Yan 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12:57:00","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-90710/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-90710/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-021-03698-y","type":"published","date":"2021-03-20T15:00:29+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":5283444,"identity":"6c685f1b-3211-4f64-8ae0-5fd3f585c03a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:49:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":94665,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"The framework of this research ","description":"","filename":"Fig1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/6514b6cc444a9f85c447145a.jpg"},{"id":5283544,"identity":"3b1a5fd0-9fe6-449c-8da4-38affff7fdb8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:52:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":105193,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Publication trend from 1980 to 2019","description":"","filename":"Fig2.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/3637eced9f1a549664b136c2.jpg"},{"id":5283446,"identity":"0d716bd1-d4cd-4d26-bb8b-098e5e695f57","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:49:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":169599,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Word Clouds of top 100 keywords in four stages","description":"","filename":"Fig3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/35965c9a002ca1ea208bcfcf.jpg"},{"id":5283540,"identity":"49fc7c4c-d6bc-49ae-8d02-27d9678e8ed2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:52:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":163214,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"a K/A ratio heat map\nb K/A ratio of the reduced keywords\nc K/A ratio of the Increased keywords\n","description":"","filename":"Fig4.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/d11128727135fa717f796794.jpg"},{"id":5283635,"identity":"d2929a8d-9942-4abc-a448-c2ce91528082","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:58:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":155894,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Keyword co-occurrence network map (1980-1989) ","description":"","filename":"Fig5.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/a7060c852e9e98f3eee97120.jpg"},{"id":5283577,"identity":"3dfcc88f-e5f3-4355-b499-70471aba04b2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:55:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":189010,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Keyword co-occurrence network map (1990-1999) ","description":"","filename":"Fig6.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/c113550802c8a68c38e00458.jpg"},{"id":5283542,"identity":"6384c312-4f5c-490e-90de-6f26112179a5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:52:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":139366,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Keyword co-occurrence network map (2000-2009) ","description":"","filename":"Fig7.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/e893af86036dc04d5937e256.jpg"},{"id":5283450,"identity":"d49534bb-af49-4ea3-85c6-ab6f4e94457f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:49:08","extension":"jpg","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":217731,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Keyword co-occurrence network map (2010-2019) ","description":"","filename":"Fig8.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/6940ce5118bb15b0ca1b6ea9.jpg"},{"id":13652524,"identity":"d50af2e9-274e-499d-a804-1140a375a108","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-09-17 09:49:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1280934,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/55796b0f-7121-41f0-873f-ca847d7ea351.pdf"},{"id":5283539,"identity":"d273f8fa-aa6b-43ff-9d66-af07005fa20d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:52:08","extension":"xlsx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":19048,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Additional file 1.xlsx\nTop 10 articles with high citation frequency in four stages\n","description":"","filename":"Additionalfile10103.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/c4b9934888149a2c174d5a0b.xlsx"},{"id":5283445,"identity":"7cab5874-4109-4f16-b03b-1163621351ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2021-01-26 21:49:08","extension":"xlsx","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":37422,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Additional file 2.xlsx\nDetail information about the maps of keyword co-occurrence network output by VOSviewer\n","description":"","filename":"Additionalfile20103.xlsx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-90710/v2/38631a1f57d44a608527178b.xlsx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Decades of research supporting malaria control and elimination in China: a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published in Chinese from 1980 to 2019","fulltext":[{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the foundation of the People\u0026rsquo;s Republic of China in 1949 to zero indigenous case in 2017. The nationwide process of the elimination has be grouped into five phases by some researchers, namely, transmission not known (1949\u0026ndash;1959), outbreak and pandemic transmission (1960\u0026ndash;1979), decline with sporadic distribution (1980\u0026ndash;1999), low transmission with re-emergence in central China (2000\u0026ndash;2009), elimination phase (2010 to present) [1, 2].\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn different phases, prevention and control strategies are constantly being promoted, such as, joint malaria prevention and control that lasted more than half a century, \u0026lsquo;1-3-7\u0026rsquo; malaria surveillance and response strategy as key intervention to deal with imported cases and indigenous cases [3, 4]. The continuous evolution of the strategies has ensured progress in the elimination. And these strategies are documented in the form of research publications.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the last 40 years, a large number of research articles on malaria have been published in Chinese journals.\u0026nbsp;Actually, it is necessary to systematically review the existing Chinese academic articles. The information and experiences contained in the academic research process would be a great reference to those areas that are still struggling with malaria, such as the trend of research hotspots. Although this information may not directly provide ready-made solutions or strategies for other countries, it can contribute for researchers and policy makers to predicting potential problems in the next phase, shortening the adjustment time of research direction, and reducing the trial and error cost in the development of strategies and technologies. In recent years, some researches tried to sum up the experience in this process and explore the value for other countries. But most of these researches focus on local epidemiological data, prevention measures and effects [3, 5-7].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research aims to analyze the articles published in Chinese journals, based on the a quantitative method, bibliometric analysis\u0026nbsp;[8]. The bibliometric analysis is widely used in various research fields (food, medicine etc.) [9-11]. In malaria research field, this method is also accepted by researchers in many countries, such as, analyses of malaria researches in China, India, Malawi, worldwide malaria vector resistance and antimalaria drug resistance [12-16]. But all of these analyses, as conventional bibliometric analyses, tend to analyze the articles by static description (like taking a photo) rather than dynamic comparison (like taking photos and making stop motion animation). So there is few quantitative evidence that reveal the changing process between the decades.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo fill in this gap, this research conducted a long-term, multi-stage bibliometric analysis of the malaria-related academic articles published in the past 40 years to reveal the changes in the research themes and keyword hotspots in China, which may show more macro information than conventional bibliometric analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\n"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe methods involved in this study mainly is bibliometric analysis. The overall research framework and the software tools involved were showed in Figure 1.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIncluded and excluded standard\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe search was conducted on 2 February 2020. Two major Chinese literature databases, Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), were searched. The inclusion criteria were: Chinese articles were published in journals from 1980 to 2019; at least one of the following Chinese words, \u0026lsquo;malaria\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;plasmodium\u0026rsquo;, and \u0026lsquo;anopheles\u0026rsquo;, was included in the title or keywords [12, 13, 17]. Exclusion criteria were: articles without keyword; repetitive articles in two databases. The articles with the same publication year, title, and authors were defined as repetitive in this research. Software NoteExpress (Version 3.2, Aegean Technology Co,. Ltd, Beijing, China) was used to manage and deduplicate the bibliography information.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData extraction\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study first analyzed all articles in the 40-year span as a whole and conducted a descriptive analysis according to the methods of conventional bibliometric analysis, including publication year, journal distribution, and highly cited articles. Then a comparative analysis was conducted between different decades. The 40-year span was divided into 4 stages, the first stage was from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 1989, the second stage (1990-1999), the third stage (2000-2009), the fourth stage (2010-2019). This time division followed the consensus of Chinese domestic malaria experts and the principle of the same time span [1, 2]. All the bibliographic information of articles included was exported into a format that can be used by the bibliometric analysis software according to the stage.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeyword frequency analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB) software (version 2.0, School of Medical Information, China Medical University, Shenyang, China) was used to extract and count the publication year, journal distribution, and keyword frequency [15]. It was a software developed by the Medical Information Department of China Medical University. It had good compatibility with Chinese journals. And it could replace the keywords with synonyms as one keyword we defined. For example, \u0026lsquo;imported case\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;imported patient\u0026rsquo; would be unified into \u0026lsquo;imported case\u0026rsquo;.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study defined \u0026lsquo;K/A ratio\u0026rsquo; as the percentage of a\u0026nbsp;keyword frequency in the number of articles\u0026nbsp;within a certain period.\u0026nbsp;The absolute frequencies of keywords in different stages could not be directly compared. The K/A ratio eliminated the impact of the difference in the total number of journal articles in different stages. It was used as an indicator to compare the popularity of the same keyword in different stages. For showing the top 100 keywords in each stage, the word clouds were built [18]. Microsoft Excel was used to calculate and display the change trend of the K/A ratio. A heat map was produced based on the rank of K/A ratio.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeyword co-occurrence network and clustering\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVOSviewer (version 1.6.11, Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands) was used to make four keyword co-occurrence network maps in different stages. It was a software tool for creating maps based on network data and for visualizing and exploring these maps [19]. This software can achieve the merger of keywords with synonyms and the replacement of Chinese to English according to the \u0026lsquo;thesaurus terms\u0026rsquo; file (a txt file in a specific format for VOSviewer), which was translated and reviewed by two researchers. For co-occurrence analysis, if keyword A and keyword B were the keywords of one articles, we defined this relationship between A and B as a co-occurrence [8]. The network developed based on such relationship was a keyword co-occurrence network. In a network map, a node represented a keyword, and its\u0026rsquo; size was related to the occurrence frequency of the keyword. The node color represented different cluster that they belonged to. Links represented co-occurrence relationships.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor comparability among the network maps in different stages, the parameters in VOSviewer were set consistently as: the keywords with a frequency of more than 15 times were showed in maps; each cluster contained at least 5 keywords. Based on this setting, keywords were grouped into different clusters according to co-occurrence. Then the clusters in the network maps of four stages were compared with each other.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":" \u003cp\u003eIn this research, 14,963 articles were retrieved in the CNKI, and 9,950 articles were retrieved in Wanfang. A total of 24,913 articles were saved in NoteExpress for exclusion and deduplication. 1,082 articles without keyword were excluded. Most of them were notices, announcements and news on the topic of malaria published in academic journals.\u0026nbsp;7,752\u0026nbsp;articles were excluded due to repetitive (Fig.2).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication distribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2019, a total of 16,290 articles related to malaria research were published in Chinese academic journals. As shown in Figure 3, in the 1980s and 1990s, the number of articles showed a volatile increase, from 2,768 to 4,786. In the 2000s, there was a gradual and slight decline from 2003 to 2010. In the last ten years, the number of articles showed a slight increase at first. But for the three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019, the annual decline exceeded 10%.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe top 15 journals with the most cumulative articles published in past 40 years were listed in Table 1. Articles related to malaria research were mainly published in professional journals in the fields of parasitic diseases, tropical diseases and infectious diseases.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1 \u003c/strong\u003eTop 15 journals with the most publications\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRank\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJournal\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRecords\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e% of total\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCumulative %\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInternational Journal of Medical Parasitic Diseases\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2,126\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13.22\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1,207\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7.51\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e20.73\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJournal of Parasitic Biology\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1,113\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6.92\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e27.65\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChina Tropical Medicine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e699\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.35\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e32.00\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e462\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e34.87\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParasitoses and Infectious Diseases\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e433\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.69\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e37.56\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChinese Journal of Vector Biology and Control\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e275\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.71\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e39.27\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJournal of Medical Pest Control\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e274\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e40.98\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChinese Journal of Zoonoses\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e240\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.49\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e42.47\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJournal of Tropical Medicine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e197\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.23\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e43.70\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHenan Journal of Preventive Medicine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e192\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.19\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e44.89\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHainan Medical Journal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e166\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.03\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e45.92\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eActa Parasitological et Medica Entomological Sinica\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e138\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.86\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e46.78\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChinese Journal of Public Health\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e131\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.81\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e47.60\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModern Preventive Medicine\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e126\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e0.78\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e48.38\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/td\u003e\n\u003c/tr\u003e\n\u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote：International Journal of Medical Parasitic Diseases was suspended in 2015\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHigh-cited articles and authorships\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe highly cited articles in each stage that counted by CNKI database were showed in additional file [see Additional file 1]. The deadline for citation counting was February 2, 2020. The citation frequency of high-cited articles varied greatly in each stage, and the theme represented by articles also varied greatly. In the 1980s, the most cited articles mainly focused on Anopheles; in the 1990s, the themes increased, but the antimalarial drugs and vectors were still the main ones; in 2000s and 2010s, there were more citation to the epidemic analysis; but in the past ten years, retrospective and summary research articles received more attention. Most of the authors of highly cited articles were from national or provincial institute of parasitic diseases and centers for disease control and prevention. According to the frequency of the author affiliation, the top 5 institutions in different stages were shown in Table 2. National and provincial institutes of parasitic disease occupied most of the top 5 positions in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, followed by universities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;line-height:150%;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:16px;line-height:150%;font-family:\"Arial\",sans-serif;'\u003eTable 2\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cspan style='font-size:16px;line-height:150%;font-family:\"Arial\",sans-serif;'\u003eTop 5 institutions with the most author frequency\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable style=\"border: none;width:415.3pt;border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:38.5pt;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:none;background:#BDD7EE;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eYears\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:none;background:#BDD7EE;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eNo.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:none;background:#BDD7EE;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eInstitute\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;border-right:none;background:#BDD7EE;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eFrequency\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" style=\"width:38.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1980s\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eHenan Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eYunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eLiaoning Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eSun Yat-sen University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eHainan Provincial Health and Anti-epidemic Station\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" style=\"width:38.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1990s\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eGuangdong Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eShandong Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eSun Yat-sen University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eHainan Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eYunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" style=\"width:38.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2000s\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eYunnan Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e80\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eNational Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e77\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eSun Yat-sen University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eChina Medical University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eThird Military Medical University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#E2EFDA;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" style=\"width:38.5pt;border:none;border-bottom: solid black 1.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2010s\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eNational Institute of Parasitic Disease\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eChina Medical University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e62\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eSecond Military Medical University\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eGuangxi Center for Disease Control and Prevention\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:28.5pt;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:286.0pt;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:left;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003eChinese Academy of Medical Sciences\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width:62.3pt;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;background:#DDEBF7;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;height:14.25pt;\"\u003e\n \u003cp style=\"margin:0in;text-align:center;font-size:14px;font-family:DengXian;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size:15px;color:black;\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeyword frequency analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe word clouds of different stages (Fig.3) reveal the following features: 1) falciparum malaria, vivax malaria were the main types of malaria in China; 2) \u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e was main malaria vector; 3) imported cases, surveillance and elimination had come at the forefront of concerns in the fourth stage.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the analysis of single keyword, the keyword \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ePlasmodium falciparum\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, it maintained the fourth rank in the first three stages, but its\u0026rsquo; K/A ratio had been in a state of decline, 17.05% in 1980s, 13.04% in 1990s, 9.86% in 2000s. The keyword \u0026lsquo;falciparum malaria\u0026rsquo;, it\u0026rsquo;s frequency rank rose from seventh in 1980s to fourth in 2010s, but its\u0026rsquo; K/A ratio declined from 12.97% in 1980s to 7.82% in 2010s. These results suggested that there were some common patterns in the change of K/A ratio.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heat map (Fig.4a) showed two obvious change pattern of K/A ratio from an overall perspective. It clearly showed that the K/A ratio of some keywords continuously decreased, and some continuously increased (Fig.4b and Fig.4c).\u0026nbsp;Keywords in continuous decrease of K/A ratio were \u0026lsquo;internal medicine\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ePlasmodium falciparum\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;vivax malaria\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;falciparum malaria\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;antimalaria drugs\u0026rsquo;, etc. Keywords in continuous increase included \u0026lsquo;imported case\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;surveillance\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;artemisinin\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;floating population\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;epidemiological characteristic\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;elimination\u0026rsquo;, etc. In essence, these two patterns were the manifestation of the research theme change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKeywords co-occurrence network\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFigures 5, 6, 7, and 8 were the maps of keyword co-occurrence network in four stages. According to the strength of the co-occurrence relationship, 157 keywords were divided into 5 clusters in 1980s, 205 keywords into 6 clusters in 1990s, 170 keywords into 5 clusters in 2000s, 114 keywords into 7 clusters in 2010s [more information see\u0026nbsp;Additional file 2]. These clusters were considered as research themes, and each theme could be divided into sub-themes according to the subjects that were represented by specific keywords in the cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the perspective of whole network maps of four stages, in 1980s (Fig.5), the blue cluster was centered on \u0026lsquo;Anopheles\u0026rsquo; and included keyword \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles anthropophagus\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles minimus\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;. And the same situation occurred in 1990s (Fig 6, green cluster). This two clusters had obvious boundaries with other clusters in their own networks. This result indicated that researches on Anopheles had high independence. But in 2000s, this kind of independence became weak. And in 2010s (Fig.8), this kind of independence was disappeared. The boundaries of clusters were difficult to identify. For the analysis of the network structure among the clusters, the boundaries between two clusters in one stage became more and more blurred, especially in 2010s (Fig.8). Figure 8 also showed that many main nodes in one clusters are also intermediaries with other clusters. This result suggested that the relationship between research themes is no longer the weak connection due to sub-themes\u0026rsquo; co-occurrence in the past, but a strong connection that emerged from the deep integration of the subjects and research methods.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the perspective of the cluster in different network maps, in the blue cluster in 1980s (Fig.5), the peripheral keywords, which were around the central keyword \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, included \u0026lsquo;retention spray\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;ecological habit\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;life history\u0026rsquo;, etc. However, in the blue clusters in 2010s (Fig.8), peripheral keywords around the central keyword \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, included \u0026lsquo;surveillance\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;drug resistance\u0026rsquo;, etc. It was found that the keywords that represented the research object, such as \u0026lsquo;falciparum malaria\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003ePlasmodium falciparum\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, were always the central keywords in different stages. But peripheral keywords, which represented the research fields, around central keywords changed.\u0026nbsp;For \u0026lsquo;\u003cem\u003eAnopheles sinensis\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;, in 1980s, the research direction was entomology. In 2010s, the research direction was insect vector control. So this result indicated that the research direction around the central keywords was changing with the process of malaria elimination.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the analysis at node level, in all four keyword co-occurrence network maps, some nodes in one cluster only had co-occurrence with the nodes inside this cluster, and other nodes had co-occurrence with multiple nodes outside this cluster. Under this common feature, there were differences in details, such as the link density between nodes. In figure 7, we clearly observed that the network of green clusters looks more complex than the red clusters on the premise that the number of nodes is not much different between the red clusters and the green clusters. This result indicated that the co-occurrence between the nodes in the green cluster was more divergent, while the co-occurrence relationship between the nodes in the red cluster was more directional. This meant that the sub-themes represented by the nodes in the red cluster have a high degree of independence.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn summary, the change of high-frequency keywords and networks reflected the needs and research hotspots at different stages. The researches centered on these hotspots provided evidence for the prevention and control strategies.\u0026nbsp;And this research indicated four trends that Chinese article publication presented from a long-term perspective. The academic researches led by domestic institutes of parasitic disease had never been interrupted from control to elimination phase. The change of research theme was related to the need for malaria control (elimination) at different stages. Multidisciplinary participation became a trend especially after local transmission was blocked. Drug resistance had always been a focus.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, these trends were difficult to compare with other countries. Mainly because there were only two bibliometric analysis publications of the same scale on malaria research in journals: Upasana\u0026rsquo;s research in India from 1909 to 2019 [12],\u0026nbsp;Chikondi\u0026rsquo;s research\u0026nbsp;in Malawi from 1984 to 2016 [13]. And they both described and analyzed the research period as a whole, there was no staged comparison. But the results about the author affiliation in Chikondi\u0026rsquo;s research could\u0026nbsp;be compared with the result in this research. In Malawi, Malawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust, a politically and financially independent global charitable foundation was the most frequent author affiliation (30%), followed by University of Malawi (20%). In China, national and provincial institutes of parasitic disease, as public institutions fully funded by the government, were the author affiliations with the most occurrences. This difference involved a fact that some government agencies in China were involved in malaria researches, and also participated in the daily operations of public health programs as manager. This organization setting shortened the time required to transform research evidence into national or local strategies.\u0026nbsp;The consistency was actually observed between research themes and national strategic plans, such as National Malaria Control Plan (5 government documents from 1983 to 2015), China Malaria Elimination Action Plan (2010-2020).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublication decline in Chinese journals and international journals\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this research, the sharp decline was observed in the number of Chinese articles published in recent years (more than 10% per year). There was also a decline of articles that were published in international journal with Chinese participation in 2019 [20]. With the elimination of malaria in China, the decline in malaria research was an inevitable trend. However, for the global elimination of malaria, how to make full use of the value of domestic researchers with rich experience should be a concern for policymakers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eContinuous epidemiological investigations and surveillance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe highly cited articles and Top 100 keywords among four stages indicate that whether in the control or elimination phase, epidemiological investigations and surveillance have always been given considerable attention in China. Epidemiological Investigation and surveillance help epidemiologists obtain basic information about malaria cases or plasmodium, such as the breeding ground of the vector, the source of imported cases, and the possibility of re-transmission [4]. This information helps to develop targeted interventions. In the 1980s, the main subjects of the investigations were vectors and transmission patterns [21-23]. In 2001, nationwide epidemiological investigation reports of malaria case began to be published [24]. In the 2010s, epidemiological investigations of imported cases were implemented in many provinces and border regions [25-28]. Although the subjects of the investigation have changed, the emphasis on the investigation has never weakened. In essence, this reflects that the development, adjustment, and termination of China\u0026apos;s anti-malarial strategies always base on local epidemic and other evidences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe need for\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003emultidisciplinary participation\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe diversification of keyword co-occurrence networks indicates the general improvement of multidisciplinary participation which is needed to optimize large-scale social mobilization. Malaria elimination is a long-term project that requires continuous input, even when the epidemic trend has been reduced from sporadic to no local transmission. Actually, large-scale social mobilization is the most valuable and sustainable input.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn China, social mobilization involves not only joint prevention and control between different regions [29, 30], but also cooperation between different administrative departments, such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce, and Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. But the closer to the realization of elimination, the more precise case tracking and patient management are needed. The greater the need for preventive measures for a wider range of healthy people is, the higher the cost is. For such a large-scale social mobilization, how to make it efficient and precise is a problem. To solve this problem, multidisciplinary participation is inevitable, including Social Management, Education, Journalism and Communication, Evaluation of Healthcare Program, International Relations, etc. Multidisciplinary participation would help to design more efficient, low-cost and targeted interventions from multiple nodes in the transmission path. Therefore, large-scale social mobilization and multidisciplinary participation should be encouraged as much as possible in other regions for the development of malaria strategy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eLimitation\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study has two limitations. First, the Chinese journal databases do not allow users to download the reference information. So we did not make a co-citation analysis. Second, this study focuses on the comparison of different stages. The details in a single stage are not fully displayed. And there are many sub-topic analysis that can be implemented. Therefore, we would like to share the original data (the bibliographic information of 16,290 articles) analyzed in this study with other researchers to jointly dig these data and explore the potential value.\u003c/p\u003e\n"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study reveals the trends in the research themes and hotspots in malaria field in past 40 years. The reveal of these trends could help researchers in other malaria epidemic areas to fully understand the research process of malaria elimination strategy and technology. And the results also provided domestic experts with qualitative evidence for the summary of China's experience on malaria control and elimination. More important than these results are that this research would let researchers and policy makers aware of the importance of the investigation, surveillance, and multidisciplinary participation.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cp\u003eBICOMB = Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCNKI = China National Knowledge Infrastructure\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eK/A ratio = Keyword/Articles ratio\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was supported by National Key R\u0026amp;D Program of China (No. 2020YFC1200105), the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology (BE2018020), and the Jiangsu Provincial Project of Invigorating Health Care through Science, Technology and Education. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors\u0026rsquo; contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYD, GZ, JC, and JH conceived and designed the study. YD was responsible for the bibliometric analysis and the first draft of the manuscript while JH, and JC critically revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFeng J, Zhang L, Huang F, Yin JH, Tu H, Xia ZG, et al. Ready for malaria elimination: zero indigenous case reported in the People's Republic of China. Malar J. 2018;17:315.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTang LH, Gao Q. Malaria control and elimination in China. 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Infect Dis Poverty. 2018;7:1.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLei L, Xia ZG, Li ZH, Gong FY, Xiao N. A retrospective analysis on the diagnosis and reporting of imported malaria in Jiangxi Province during 2012\u0026ndash;2015. Chin J Parasitol Parasit Dis. 2017;35:80\u0026ndash;84 \u003cstrong\u003e(in Chinese)\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZhu HY, Zhang M, Ma R. Analysis of imported malaria epidemic situation in Ningxia from 2010 to 2015. Journal of Ningxia Med Univ. 2017;39:185\u0026ndash;187 \u003cstrong\u003e(in Chinese)\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFu ZY, Liu Q, Xu XH. Implementation and effect of joint malaria control in 5 cities in south of Shandong province. Chin J Parasit Dis Control. 2004;5:72\u0026ndash;73 \u003cstrong\u003e(in Chinese)\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHuang GQ, Yan BW, Yuan FY, Pei SJ. Joint prevention of malaria in Hubei Province: 30 years of achievements and experience. J Public Health Prev Med. 2004;6:66\u0026ndash;68 \u003cstrong\u003e(in Chinese)\u003c/strong\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"malaria-journal","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"malj","sideBox":"Learn more about [Malaria Journal](http://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"12936","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/12936/3","title":"Malaria Journal","twitterHandle":"@malariajournal","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Malaria, Plasmodium, Anopheles, Academic Articles, Bibliometric Analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-90710/v2","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-90710/v2","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eChina has accumulated a lot of experience on malaria control and elimination in the past few decades. Many research papers have been published in Chinese journals. This study intends to obtain the development path and experience of malaria control and elimination in China by quantitatively analyzing these local journals based on the bibliometric analysis.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods:\u003c/strong\u003e A long-term, multi-stage bibliometric analysis was implemented. Research articles published in Chinese journals from 1980 to 2019 were retrieved from Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Year of publication, journal name and keywords were extracted by the Bibliographic Items Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB). We defined the K/A ratio (the percentage of a keyword frequency in the number of articles within a certain period) as an indicator for measuring the popularity of a keyword in different decades. And we used the software VOSviewer to make keyword co-occurrence network maps.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eA total of 16,290 articles were included. The overall trend of articles\u0026nbsp;continues to rise. However, the articles published in the past three years had continued to decline. There are two kinds of trends of the keyword frequency between different decades. The K/A ratio of keywords such as ‘\u003cem\u003ePlasmodium falciparum\u003c/em\u003e’ continued to decline (17.05% in 1980s, 13.04% in 1990s, 9.86% in 2000s, 5.28% in 2010s), but ‘imported case’ and ‘surveillance’ continued to rise. Drug resistance always was a concern. The keyword co-occurrence network maps showed that the themes in malaria research were becoming more diverse, and the degree of multidisciplinary cooperation was gradually deepening.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion:\u003c/strong\u003e This bibliometric analysis reveals the trends in malaria research in China over the past 40 years. The results suggest the high attention on the investigation, multidisciplinary participation and drug resistance for researchers and policymakers in malaria-epidemic areas. And the results also provided domestic experts with qualitative evidence for the summary of China's experience on malaria control and elimination.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Decades of research supporting malaria control and elimination in China: a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published in Chinese from 1980 to 2019","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":"","date":"2021-02-28 00:00:00","doi":"","editorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Minor Revision","date":"2021-02-28T00:00:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2021-02-10T00:00:00+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2021-02-10T00:00:00+00:00","index":1,"fulltext":"Recommendation: Reviewer's comments unavailable due to the journal's 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