Malaria is transmitted when a mosquito bites a person carrying the parasite. The parasite then develops inside the mosquito, which subsequently bites other individuals.
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While most malaria cases in the US originate from individuals who have travelled abroad and were exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes, the recent cases involve people who had not left the country. This raises fears that local mosquitoes could be spreading the disease to others.
In a concerning development, three new cases of malaria have emerged in the United States, with one reported in Texas and two in Florida.
What alarms officials is that these cases were locally transmitted, indicating that a mosquito within the US was carrying the malaria parasite. This is the first instance of local transmission since 2003 in Palm Beach County, Florida, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported the New York Post.
Potential spread of malaria by local mosquitoes raises concern
While most malaria cases in the US originate from individuals who have travelled abroad and were exposed to disease-carrying mosquitoes, the recent cases involve people who had not left the country.
This raises fears that local mosquitoes could be spreading the disease to others. Estelle Martin, an entomologist at the University of Florida, emphasised the worrisome nature of local transmission in an area.
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Malaria transmission and symptoms
Malaria is transmitted when a mosquito bites a person carrying the parasite. The parasite then develops inside the mosquito, which subsequently bites other individuals.
Notably, people with the parasite may not exhibit symptoms, making it easier for the disease to spread when an asymptomatic person is bitten. Symptoms of malaria include fever, shivers, chills, headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fatigue.
If left untreated, the infection can lead to severe complications such as jaundice, anaemia, kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and even death.
Climate change and vector-borne diseases
These recent cases highlight the heightened risk of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors due to a warming climate.
Climate change is playing a definitive role in the spread of vector-borne diseases across the United States.
Malaria-infected mosquitoes were discovered in a swampy area of Sarasota County, where one of the Florida cases was identified.
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Local authorities promptly applied insecticides to reduce the mosquito population in the area. It is also possible that the three recent cases resulted from a traveller who carried the disease from another country and was subsequently bitten by a mosquito, which then bit one of the local individuals, reported the New York Post.
The emergence of locally acquired malaria cases in the US underscores the importance of surveillance, mosquito control efforts, and public awareness to mitigate the spread of this potentially deadly disease.
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