How Gold Mining Affects the Spread of Malaria

Gold mining has long been linked to malaria surges in the Amazon region. A recent analysis by Swiss TPH and partners illustrates how a 2023 crackdown on illegal gold mining in Brazil triggered a malaria outbreak in neighbouring Guyana. Displaced miners carried infection into indigenous communities, driving further transmission. The research was published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health - Americas and highlights the need for cross-border collaboration to tackle mining-related malaria.

Mining areas account for most malaria cases in the Guiana Shield - an area which covers Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and parts of Brazil and Venezuela. As mining expands, it drives migration and creates breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Open pit mines and deforestation increase mosquito habitats. Miners’ behaviours such as working at mosquito peak times, limited access to health care, or using black market medicines further increase the risk of malaria transmission.

"The international gold price has been the best predictor of malaria rates in Guyana," said Pablo De Salazar from Swiss TPH, reflecting on findings from his previous research. When gold prices rise, more miners are attracted to the region, leading to increased mining activity and a higher risk of malaria transmission.

A recently published case study by Swiss TPH and partners analysed how Brazil’s 2023 crackdown on illegal gold mining in Yanomami lands triggered a malaria outbreak in neighbouring Guyana. The research shows how displaced miners moving into Guyana’s Marudi Mountain region introduced new malaria infections. The outbreak initially affected miners of different nationalities and quickly spread to nearby villages. Analysis of the data established a direct link between the mining crackdown in Yanomami lands in Brazil and the rise in malaria cases in Guyana, demonstrating how the displacement of miners fuels cross-border transmission, spills over indigenous communities, and sustains the regional cycle of malaria spread.

The study highlights the need for coordinated, cross-border efforts to control mining-driven malaria in the Amazon basin. "Malaria doesn’t recognise borders. Without new strategies that target mining communities and indigenous communities as well as regional cooperation to manage mining-related malaria, sustainable elimination in the Amazon will remain out of reach," said Pablo De Salazar from Swiss TPH, first author of the study.

The research was led by Swiss TPH in collaboration with the National Malaria Program of Guyana, the Caribbean Public Health Agency, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

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