A locally acquired malaria case has been reported in Arkansas, according to the state’s Department of Health.
In a news release on Wednesday, the department said that the infected Saline County resident, who has not been named, is now the sixth case of malaria recorded in Arkansas so far this year.
The five other cases were acquired out of the country whereas this individual had not recently left the US and so must have contracted it locally.
This now brings the number of malaria cases in the US this year to 15.
Seven of these cases have been locally acquired including cases in Florida, one in Texas and one in Maryland.
Malaria is spread through bites from the Anopheles mosquito.
Most cases of the infection are caught overseas in areas where the disease is more common, such as in Africa.
In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, about 2,000 cases were reported annually in the US, mostly travel-related, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A locally acquired malaria case has been found in Arkansas, the state Department of Health said— (AP)
Symptoms of malaria include fever, shaking chills, sweating, headache, body aches, nausea, and vomiting, which start up to 30 days after infection.
Medics urge people to seek treatment as soon as they begin to exhibit these symptoms.
Without treatment, malaria can cause disorientation, seizures, anemia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and kidney damage. It can also lead to death.
