7th Locally-infected Malaria Patient Confirmed in Sarasota

Florida Health's latest Mosquito-Borne Disease Surveillance report indicates the recent malaria outbreak in the Sarasota area has continued into the summer of 2023.

As of July 15, 2023, Florida Health'w week #28 reported confirmed the seventh locally-acquired malaria case in the Sarasota area since May 2023. The Plasmodium species reported were Plasmodium vivax.

And state-wide, there have been 26 travel-related malaria cases reported in Broward (5), Duval, Hillsborough (4), Lee, Leon (2), Miami-Dade (5), Orange (2), Osceola, Pinellas (3), Sarasota, and Volusia counties this year.

The majority of travel-associated malaria cases in Florida were in people who had recently visited Africa.

Malaria still threatens international travelers, military personnel, and U.S. citizens living and working abroad, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the World Health Organization World Malaria Report, the global number of malaria outbreaks reached about 240 million cases, with over 600,000 related fatalities in 2021. 

As of July 18, 2023, the U.S. CDC says the bite of an infective female Anopheles mosquito spreads malaria.

The disease can cause fever, chills, and flu-like illness. If it is not treated, it can cause severe complications and death.

The CDC has issued malaria alerts for malaria-endemic countries, including Costa Rica, but not Florida.

Various antimalarial treatments are approved by the CDC in 2023, but not no malaria vaccines.

As of July 5, 2023, twelve African countries are set to receive 18 million doses of GSK's Mosquirix recombinant vaccine over the next two years.