Texan with no travel history diagnosed with malaria
TEXAS - The Texas Department of State Health Services says a Texan has been diagnosed with malaria. This person has no travel history.
Health officials are reminding people to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
The case is being investigated to see if anyone else has been exposed to the mosquito-borne disease.
Officials say the resident spent time working outside in Cameron County.
"Most of the cases that are seen here in the United States are as a result of travelers returning from endemic areas where malaria is prevalent. And this report of a case in Texas and an individual with no travel history is unusual," Dr. Desmar Walkes, medical director at Austin Public Health, said.
Experts say symptoms of malaria are flu-like and can include fever, chills, aches, and vomiting, typically starting 7 to 30 days after infection.
People can protect themselves by using insect repellent with deet, dressing to cover your skin, and draining standing water.
"It's prevalent in a lot of other countries. It's not prevalent here in the United States," Walkes said.
DSHS says occasionally a locally acquired case can happen when a certain type of mosquito bites an infected traveler and then bites someone else. There are no reports of malaria in the Austin area. Texas averages 120 travel-related malaria cases a year. The last locally acquired case was in 1994.
An adult female Anopheles mosquito bites a human body to begin its blood meal at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 24/02/2023. Part of the genus Anopheles, the mosquitoes are capable of carrying and transmitting one of the five single-celled parasite sp
If you're traveling, check with your doctor to see if you should take malaria prevention medicine.
If you have malaria-like symptoms and have a history of mosquito bites, check with your doctor to get tested. Without treatment, malaria can be life-threatening.
"This is something that you can track that you get from having a mosquito that's infected by you. So protecting yourself from mosquito bites is the best way to avoid getting this mosquito-borne illness," Walkes said.
Malaria cases found in Texas, Florida
The Centers for Disease Control is warning doctors and public health authorities after a case of Malaria in Cameron County, Texas and 4 cases of Malaria in Florida. The cases are the first to be reported in 20 years not linked to travel outside of the U.S. Doctor Pradeep Kumar, with Austin Gastroenterology, joins us with more.
Austin Public Health also says they've found a positive West Nile mosquito pool in Travis County, but there are no human cases reported right now.
The Texas malaria case is one of five in the U.S. There are four cases reported in Florida.