Gene Abrams sat in the shade of Newtown Estate Park about three miles from where the Sarasota County malaria case occurred. He didn’t even know there was an outbreak of infection. Abrams said he hadn’t seen anything about the malaria case on social media.
Abrams, a Sarasota native, has been homeless for six months after losing his food control job, spending most of his time outdoors. If you can’t afford to buy food, you can’t afford to protect yourself from mosquitoes. For him, the immediate need to survive takes precedence over protecting himself from malaria.
“Disgusting,” said Abrams, with tears in his eyes. “I don’t like it. We literally have to store our weapons for safety.”
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A total of four cases have been confirmed in Sarasota County by the Florida Department of Health since the first case was reported during the week of May 21-27, and a possible fifth case has been announced by the Florida Department of Health. being investigated by authorities. Residents of the state are advised to apply bug spray, avoid mosquito-infested areas and wear long pants and shirts at night.
Some residents spending time outdoors near the affected DeSoto Acres and Kensington Park areas are unaware or unperturbed by the malaria outbreak.
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At 17th Street Park, Ken Hickson and Alton Ayers wore sunglasses and sat in folding chairs with drink tumblers. Their two dogs barked and ran towards everyone who entered the creaking metal gates of the dog park.
The two men are less concerned about malaria cases being recorded in Kensington Park, a few blocks away, and DeSoto Acres, 4.6 miles away. They chose not to wear bug spray.
“I didn’t give it too much thought,” Hickson said. “There are no mosquitoes in the daytime today.”
Ayers, from Sarasota, wore a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun out. He lives across from DeSoto Acres, one of the places where the outbreak occurred. He said puddles where mosquitoes breed are not a problem. In fact, he said it was so hot that the birdbath had to be refilled constantly.
He attributes malaria cases to an increase in travel. Local officials said the disease is not contagious to humans, but confirmed cases were transmitted within the region. In other words, they contracted malaria from mosquitoes in the Sarasota area.
“I think it comes from somewhere,” Ayers said. “The situation is getting worse because it came from another country.”
Roel Dinglasan, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine, told the Sarasota Herald Tribune that he suspected that asymptomatic carriers of malaria from abroad had come to the Sarasota area and become infected. He said he was. I was bitten by a mosquito here. The insect may have infected another person in the area.
