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In its newly issued warning, the CDC emphasized that malaria is considered a medical emergency, and recommended that anyone with symptoms of the disease should go to a medical facility for immediate examination.
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| Anopheles mosquitoes are the intermediate hosts that transmit the parasite that causes malaria. Photo: CDC |
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just announced that it has identified five cases of malaria, four in Florida and one in Texas, for the first time in 20 years. The CDC stated that these cases were diagnosed within the last two months.
Florida officials said the first confirmed case of malaria was in Sarasota County on May 26. Then, on June 23, officials in Texas announced that a resident of the state who worked outdoors in Cameron County was also diagnosed with the disease.
In a warning issued on June 26, the CDC emphasized that malaria is considered a medical emergency and recommended that anyone with symptoms of the disease should go to a medical facility for immediate examination.
Florida has issued a mosquito-borne malaria warning, advising residents to take precautions such as keeping water out of the water and using insecticides containing the compound Diethyltoluamide (DEET) to repel mosquitoes.
Texas has also issued a health alert, advising doctors to review patients' travel histories to determine whether people with malaria symptoms have been outdoors and exposed to mosquito bites in areas where malaria is endemic.
However, the CDC asserts that the risk of malaria in the US is still not a concern, most of the infected cases are cases of traveling abroad.
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