- The person is presumed to have contracted malaria after being bitten by a local mosquito.
- Malaria cases in the United States are rare and most are associated with international travel.
- Weather plays a big role in malaria.
A rare case of malaria contracted by a local mosquito bite has been reported in Florida.
The state health department for neighboring Sarasota and Manatee counties on Florida’s west coast, just south of Tampa Bay, issued advisories Monday. Warning inhabitants become infected. The news release said counties were “responding to one confirmed case of malaria in a person who spent a lot of time outdoors.”
Christopher Titter, a Florida Department of Health spokesman for the manatee, added details in an email to weather.com Wednesday.
“It is presumed that this person was bitten by a mosquito from an area affected by this disease,” Titter said.
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about 2,000 According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of malaria are diagnosed every year nationwide. The majority of them are travelers from countries where malaria is endemic, such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
A total of 488 malaria cases have been reported in Florida in the past decade, according to the WHO. data From the Ministry of Health. Of these, only one case was confirmed domestically.
“Given the fact that locally acquired malaria is extremely rare, not only in Florida, but in our country, I don’t think it’s a mosquito-borne disease that people need to worry about in Florida.” Eva BucknerAn entomologist at the University of Florida’s Laboratory of Medical Entomology told weather.com in an interview Wednesday.
Buckner said more common diseases such as West Nile and dengue are of greater concern.
How is malaria spread?
Malaria is transmitted by certain species of female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are present in most areas of the continental United States.
A person with malaria is not contagious, but a mosquito that bites that person can transmit the malaria parasite to another person who is bitten.
Some types of malaria are more dangerous to humans than others. The recent case in Florida is one of the less lethal strains, the health department said.
Malaria was once a major health problem in Florida and other parts of the United States.In fact, the CDC Been formed In 1946, specifically to combat the spread of disease.
“Thankfully, probably starting around the early 1900s, there began a massive effort to eradicate malaria from the United States and Florida because malaria was very common in the United States and our state at the time, Because it had such a huge impact and caused serious damage, “the mortality rate is very high,” Buckner said.
The disease is now considered eradicated because the number of people infected in the United States is so low.
Globally, it’s another story.The World Health Organization expects that by 2021, about 247 million Malaria infected people in 85 countries and killed 619,000. Children under the age of 5 are one of the most vulnerable groups.
Malaria vaccines are being administered to children in pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
What role does the weather play?
“Where Malaria Occurs depends This is largely due to climatic factors such as temperature, humidity and rainfall,” the CDC said on its website.
Especially temperature plays an important role. One of the most severe types of malaria cannot survive below 68 degrees.
In areas of Florida that are generally always warm, there is mosquito activity year-round.
“Certainly Florida has warm and humid conditions, and especially considering mosquitoes, these are very favorable conditions for mosquito development,” Buckner said.
Climate changes brought about by global warming are expected to affect which types of mosquitoes breed where, which in turn could spread the disease to new areas.
Weather.com reporter Jean Childs We cover breaking news and features on weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything else.
The Weather Company’s primary journalist mission is to cover the latest weather news, the environment, and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
