WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2023) The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health alert regarding locally acquired malaria cases identified in Florida and Texas.
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to share information and notify clinicians, public health authorities, and the public about... Identification of locally acquired malaria cases (P. vivax) in two US states - Florida (4) and Texas (1) - within the last 2 months," the CDC said on Monday.
The CDC said it is collaborating with two US state health departments with ongoing probes of locally acquired mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium vivax malaria cases, the first identified in the United States since 2003.
On Friday, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said it was notified of a case of malaria diagnosed in a local resident who had not traveled outside the US or state. The CDC said four cases within close geographic proximity in Florida have been identified as well.
There is no evidence to suggest the cases in the two states - Florida and Texas - are related, according to the statement. All patients have received treatment and are improving, the release added.
The alert warned health providers to plan for rapid access to IV artesunate, the first-line treatment for severe malaria.
"Despite these cases, the risk of locally acquired malaria remains extremely low in the United States. However, Anopheles mosquito vectors, found throughout many regions of the country, are capable of transmitting malaria if they feed on a malaria-infected person," the CDC said.
Symptoms of malaria include fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, and fatigue, along with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms begin for most people 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, the release said.
