Malaria in Maryland: Ninth Case in US Recorded This Summer

Maryland officials have reported a locally acquired case of Malaria, adding to the ledger of a bizarre outbreak striking the United States this summer.

“We have not seen a case in Maryland that was not related to travel in over 40 years,” Laura Herrera Scott, the state’s department of health secretary, said in a statement.

The unnamed patient reportedly went to the hospital presenting a fever and sweating, and they were discharged after a short time. 

Malaria is a mosquito-borne illness. While the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2021, it sickened 247 million people and caused 610,000 deaths, it is generally not common in the United States.

However, earlier this summer, locally transmitted cases in Florida and Texas had health officials sounding alarms now that it is spreading in the country. Seven cases have been recorded in Sarasota County, near Tampa, Florida, Cameron County, Texas, along the southern border with Mexico, has logged a case as well.

Cases of mosquito-borne illnesses are rising across the U.S. this summer, with some experts pointing to heatwaves that have ravaged the nation as the cause. The bugs thrive in warmer environments, giving them more time to pass illnesses on to humans. Diseases such as the West Nile Virus and dengue fever have also cropped up in unusually high numbers this year.

Symptoms of malaria include a fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue. In some cases, patients may experience cyclic “malaria attacks,” which start with shivering and chills, progresses into a high fever with sweating, and then a return to normal. Malaria can be treated with antimalarial drugs.  

Severe malaria can cause death by way of organ failure, breathing problems, anemia, or brain damage caused by the malaria-causing parasite. Severe cases of malaria are uncommon, but young children are especially vulnerable, and malaria is a leading cause of child mortality.

The best way to prevent malaria is by preventing contact with mosquitoes. This includes using insect repellent and covering skin. There is currently one malaria vaccine, however, it only reduces cases of severe malaria by 30%.