First Malaria Cases Reported in the U.S. in 20 Years. Here’s What to Look Out For

The Business Press – June 27, 2023 at 03:30PM

Malaria has spread from mosquitoes to humans inside the U.S. for the first time in 20 years. Four cases of mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium vivax malaria have been reported in Florida within the last two months, and a single case was also found in Texas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory that Anopheles mosquitoes, which are found throughout many regions of the country, are capable of transmitting malaria if they feed on a malaria-infected person. However, it stressed that the risk of contracting malaria in the U.S. is extremely low. Before Covid, some 2,000 malaria cases were reported in the US each year, with almost all coming from travelers who had visited malarial countries. Infections led to between five and 10 deaths annually. Here’s what to look out for:

Symptoms can include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. Symptoms typically begin between 10 days and four weeks after infection, although they can manifest up to a year later. The vast majority of the world’s 240 million annual malaria cases are spread by the bite of an infected female mosquito. In rare cases, the disease can also be transmitted from a mother to her unborn baby, through blood transfusions or from sharing needles.

Patients suspected to have malaria should undergo blood tests and rapid diagnostic tests where available. Treatment includes taking antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine or atovaquone and proguanil, depending on where the infection was thought to have originated. If untreated, malaria can progress to become a severe disease, leading to complications including seizures, kidney failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, coma, and even potentially death.

To protect oneself, the CDC recommends using insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, wearing loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants, using mosquito screens on windows and doors, and getting rid of items where water can collect and mosquitoes could lay their eggs.

It is essential to follow these guidelines to prevent the spread of malaria in the U.S. Let’s strive to maintain a healthy environment by being proactive and protecting ourselves from mosquito bites.