Health officials in Maryland have detected a positive case of “locally acquired” malaria in the National Capital Region, according to the Maryland Department of Health. The individual who tested positive did not recently travel outside of the U.S. or to any other state. Maryland Department of Health Secretary Laura Herrera Scott emphasized that this is the first case of malaria unrelated to travel in over 40 years in the state. Scott expressed the seriousness of the situation and stated that they will be collaborating with local and federal health officials to investigate further.
The United States has experienced a surge of malaria cases in recent months, with five cases of mosquito-spread malaria reported in the last two months, the first such cases in 20 years. Four cases were detected in Florida, and one case was reported in Texas, according to a health alert issued by the CDC. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite. While over 2,000 cases of malaria are reported annually in the U.S., the majority of cases occur in individuals who have traveled overseas.
In Maryland, the state typically reports around 200 travel-related malaria cases each year.
Symptoms of malaria include high fever, chills, body aches, diarrhea, and vomiting. These symptoms typically appear 7 to 30 days after an infected mosquito bites an individual.
Despite the locally acquired case of malaria, the overall risk of contracting the disease through an infected mosquito bite in the U.S. is very low, according to the Department of Health.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. For story tips, you can contact [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @asabes10.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
