Five cases of malaria have been confirmed in the United States, for the first time in 20 years

It hasn’t happened in 20 years and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on high alert. “Malaria is a medical emergency and must be treated accordingly,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is the first locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne disease in 20 years. Four have been confirmed. cases in fl and one in TexasThe CDC said, adding that the incidents in the two states did not appear to be related. “Despite these cases, the risk of locally acquired malaria remains very low in the United States,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said, adding that “all patients have received treatment and are improving.”

The US authorities are now searching for more cases and in the affected areas, where they have been implemented Mosquito control measures. Florida issued a mosquito-borne disease alert after cases were found in Sarasota and Manatee counties, warning residents not to drain standing water where mosquitoes can breed and to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants.

The state of Texas has issued a health alert after a resident working outdoors in Cameron County was diagnosed with the disease. The Texas Department of Health said no other cases have been identified yetand Anopheles mosquitoes, which are found throughout much of the United States, can transmit the disease if they feed on the blood of an infected person. Almost all cases of malaria that have occurred in the United States are imported by people who have traveled from countries where the disease is endemic. The last case of locally acquired malaria in the United States was in 2003, when 8 cases were identified in Palm Beach County, Florida.