Locally Acquired Malaria Cases Identified in the United States

Published:
June 30, 2023

What You Need To Know

  • Locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria has been identified in the United States for the first time since 2003.
  • Locally acquired Plasmodium vivax malaria cases have been identified in Florida (four cases) and Texas (one case). The cases between Texas and Florida are unrelated.
  • Due to increased international travel, there is concern about a potential increase in imported malaria cases for summer 2023. Between 2010-2022 an average of 86 imported malaria cases were reported to NJDOH annually.

What to Do

Providers should continue to obtain a travel history and discuss travel plans with patients. Fever in a person who has recently traveled in a malaria-endemic area should be immediately evaluated using appropriate tests and prescribed a CDC-recommended malaria chemoprophylaxis regimen. Patients traveling to an international area with malaria should discuss mosquito bite prevention tactics.  Local health departments should promptly investigate reports of malaria, obtain a complete international travel history as well as travel to any areas with local malaria transmission. The CDC should be notified immediately should local transmission be suspected. 

For More Information

To contact the Communicable Disease Service Vector-borne Disease team, please reach out to CDSVectorTeam@doh.nj.gov or call (609) 826-4872.