How Should Malaria Be Treated in the U.S.

In response to the first locally-acquired malaria cases in the United States since 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity Call.

On July 2023, the CDC team offered insights on preventing, diagnosing, and treating malaria and how the pathogen's biology contributes to the disease's clinical management.

And Alison Ridpath, MD, MPH, CAPT, U.S. Public Health Service, Medical Countermeasures Team Lead, 2023 Malaria Response presented how the CDC and state and local health departments are responding to the locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria cases in the U.S.

Malaria cases are diagnosed and treated in the U.S. each year, primarily in individuals returning from travel to malaria-endemic countries in Africa.

The CDC has issued various outbreak alerts for malaria-endemic countries, including Costa Rica.

These malaria infections present a potential risk of subsequent transmission domestically since Anopheles mosquitoes capable of transmitting malaria are broadly distributed across the U.S.

As of mid-July 2023, there have been eight locally-acquired malaria cases this year.

In Florida, seven cases of locally acquired malaria have been reported in Sarasota County, and 26 cases related to international travel have been reported statewide.

The Florida Department of Health issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory on June 26, 2023, to notify residents and visitors of this ongoing health risk.

Due to the risk of progression to severe disease, pregnant women and their unborn children have a significantly more significant health risk from malaria infections, wrote the CDC in February 2023.

In Texas, just one locally-acquired malaria patient has been reported in 2023.

The CDC's presentation (beginning on slide #38) included several malaria treatment options available in the U.S.

While two malaria vaccines are in use in Africa, they are not offered in the U.S. in 2023.