Eighth confirmed malaria case in Sarasota equals largest malaria outbreak in decades in US

A seventh Sarasota-area resident contracted malaria after being bitten by a mosquito in the town, joining the eighth and joining the largest U.S. population infected with the parasitic virus in nearly a century.

Malaria remains one of the world’s greatest public health concerns, infecting approximately 219 million people each year. The virus, which is often fatal without treatment, has killed an average of about 660,000 people, mostly African children.

Malaria is transmitted by parasites left in the saliva of infected mosquito bites.

This year, Sarasota County’s first case of malaria was diagnosed on May 26, and more cases have followed. Almost a month later, a Cameron County, Texas man was confirmed to have the virus. Health officials said there was no evidence the cases were linked and all involved were treated in hospital and are recovering.

The majority of malaria cases diagnosed in the United States are imported, usually caused by people who have traveled abroad to countries where malaria is endemic and who experience flu-like symptoms there. However, small outbreaks of locally infected mosquito-borne malaria continue to occur.

Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common in malaria, followed by anemia and jaundice. If not treated promptly, the infection can become serious, causing kidney failure, seizures, confusion, coma, and death.

The potential for southwestern Florida is so serious that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with state and local health agencies in Florida and Texas to try to figure out how mosquitoes here caught malaria and why now.

What we do know is that nearly all of Florida’s infections are due to mosquito bites in neighborhoods in northern Sarasota County, including DeSoto Acres, south of University Parkway. There, most of the houses were built long ago, often acres apart, with small wooded forests in between.

Has malaria been eradicated?

Efforts to eradicate malaria in the United States began in earnest in the early 1900s with military support.

The focus was on malaria control around military training bases in the southern United States and its territories, where malaria remains a problem. Many of the bases were located in mosquito-infested areas and housed soldiers returning from overseas malaria-infested countries.

Malaria is not transmitted from person to person, but a mosquito can bite an infected person and pass the virus on to nearby people with subsequent bites.

In the decades that followed, scientists figured out how malaria is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, and federal health officials trained state and local health officials on mosquito control strategies such as draining stagnant water and spraying new insecticides.

By 1947, malaria in the United States was essentially eradicated.

In 2003, eight people in Palm Beach County were found to have locally contracted malaria. All involved worked outdoors until the evening, and all received treatment and recovered.

Still, malaria in the home is extremely rare.

Nonetheless, in a recent alert, the CDC reminded health care workers in Florida that malaria is a medical emergency and that those with symptoms “need to be tested urgently.”

“Physicians practicing in malaria-affected areas of the United States should follow guidance from state and local health departments,” the CDC wrote. “Physicians should consider malaria diagnosis in people with fever of unknown origin, regardless of travel history. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of patients with malaria can prevent progression to severe disease and death and limit ongoing infection.”

Is climate change a factor?

Some scientists have argued that climate change is a factor in the resurgence of both diseases in Florida, as the earth and its climate warm and mosquitoes move from place to place in pursuit of their comfort zones.

“West Nile, Lyme and other diseases are on the rise with climate change,” the international health and medicine journal STAT said in March.

“But as climate change accelerates, the range of species that carry many diseases changes, and infectious diseases surge, scientists and others warn that hospitals, doctors, and even government officials are ill-prepared for a potentially devastating surge in infectious diseases,” writes author Sarah Van Noort. “The lack of funding for vector-borne disease research and disease surveillance from federal and local governments makes the country vulnerable to outbreaks, they say.”

Florida issued a mosquito-borne disease alert, recommending residents to drain standing water, check window screens for holes, and use insecticides containing DEET to repel mosquitoes. It is also advisable to wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers if there are mosquitoes.

The Florida Department of Health is working with local mosquito control agencies in Sarasota and Manatee counties to prevent further transmission of malaria.

Texas also issued a health alert, advising clinicians that patients with malaria symptoms spend time outdoors and regularly obtain travel histories to see if they have been bitten by mosquitoes in areas where malaria is endemic.

Some of the funding for the WGCU’s environmental report is as follows: Volo Foundationis a non-profit organization with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education and improving health.

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