CDC Warns of Locally-Acquired Malaria in Florida and Texas

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sounded the alarm about malaria cases found in both Florida and Texas. The cases were identified as locally acquired, meaning the cases originated in the US and had no links to foreign travel.1
  • The warning noted that the five cases detected between the two states are the first locally transmitted cases in the US in two decades. Roughly 2K cases are diagnosed in the US each year but are mostly comprised of travelers returning from areas where the spread of malaria is common.2
  • Malaria is a disease that is spread by infected mosquitos. While it's not transmitted from person to person, it can be spread from a mother to an unborn child during gestation or delivery; often treatment allows for a full recovery, but the disease can be fatal.3
  • The CDC said that five infected individuals "are improving" but warned healthcare personnel in Florida and Texas to be alert to the possibility of more cases of the infection and consider increasing their supply of the intravenous drug used for treatment.4
  • The reported cases were all caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) which is the most prevalent malaria but also the most treatable. Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, does not believe that a sustained period of transmission will occur but there should be increased concern for travelers who return to the US infected.5
  • Following the CDC's warning, the Florida Department of Health issued a statement that encouraged Floridians to "take precautions by applying bug spray, avoiding areas with high mosquito populations, and wearing long pants and shirts when possible — especially during sunrise and sunset when mosquitos are most active."6

Sources: 1CBS, 2NPR Online News, 3NBC, 4Associated Press, 5FOX News, and 6Axios.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CDC. The US takes the fight against mosquito-borne illness seriously. Through the CDC, the US has partnered with universities through the Vector-Borne Disease Regional Centers of Excellence to research and develop innovative solutions for the control and prevention of vector-transmitted diseases. The Centers continue to play a role in preventing and responding to outbreaks using those solutions across the country.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by SMA. While robust health protocols are important, there's also a political reason why the US has seen an uptick in previously-eradicated diseases. Unlike their law-abiding counterparts, illegal immigrants cross the border without being screened for dangerous diseases like tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, cholera, diphtheria, and smallpox, among others. As shown by decades of no alarming upticks, the government obviously knows how to keep these illnesses out, and that solution is stopping illegal immigration.
  • Narrative C, as provided by STAT. In 2020, the CDC reported 17 different vector-borne illnesses and nine pathogens new to the US since 2004. The West Nile virus outbreak of 2021 in Arizona proved that the US is unprepared for such events and it has experts very concerned. As climate change has accelerated, it's shifted the environments conducive to mosquito-borne illness to new areas of the globe. Not only is the government woefully unprepared but so are medical professionals and healthcare facilities.