Maryland reports first locally acquired malaria case in 40 years

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Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...ars-rcna100813

Maryland reports first locally acquired malaria case in 40 years
The latest case was reported in the Washington, D.C. area by a patient who had not traveled outside the United States.

Aug. 19, 2023, 9:50 PM EDT
By Dennis Romero

Another case of rare "locally acquired" malaria, this one in the Washington, D.C. area, has been reported amid a string of such infections since May, officials said Friday.

The unidentified patient had not traveled recently outside the United States, the Maryland Department of Health said in a statement. The person was hospitalized and is recovering, it said...

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Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/...emic-parasite/

Maryland’s first local malaria case in 40 years initially duped doctors
The misdiagnosis is a global problem that could worsen as malaria territory expands.
Beth Mole - 10/13/2023, 1:17 PM

Catching malaria in the US is extremely rare, but when it happens, the mosquito-borne parasite can masquerade as another parasite that's regularly found in the country, leading to a misdiagnosis that has foiled doctors around the world for years. Such was the case this year in Maryland, when the state saw its first locally acquired malaria case in over 40 years, according to a report this week.


The misdiagnosis led the patient to a weeks-long treatment for the wrong infection and held up public health responses to pinpoint and thwart further transmission. To date, the source of the patient's infection remains a mystery....