History often repeats itself. Old trends come back in style. Classic movies get remade for modern audiences. New artists sample songs from back in the day. Sometimes, historical milestones resurface unexpectedly. In early October, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) officials warned the public of a locally acquired case of Malaria in Saline County, one of the first locally contracted malaria cases seen in almost 20 years. Since the warning, ADH has begun capturing mosquitos and testing them for the malaria parasite.
Locally contracted cases of malaria are popping up in Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Arkansas. All other instances of malaria between now and 2003 had come from overseas travel.
The World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report provides insight on global and regional malaria trends, progress toward global targets, and opportunities and challenges in controlling and eliminating malaria.
According to their 2022 report:
- Malaria can kill within 24 hours of symptom onset.
- There were around 247 million cases of malaria globally in 2021.
- Malaria cases have increased by 2 million since 2020.
- An estimated 619,000 people died from malaria in 2021, a slight decrease from 625,000 in 2019.
- 96% of deaths globally occurred in 29 countries, with four countries accounting for over half of all malaria deaths globally in 2021.
Malaria is not contagious from person to person unless a mosquito carries that infected blood and bites another person. According to Dr. Naveen Patil, the Medical Director of Infectious Diseases in Arkansas, Arkansas has not had a local case of malaria in the state in the 30 to 40 years since we started tracking it.
Arkansas was a historic location for malaria prevention efforts.
Over 100 years ago in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, Dr. Zaphney Orto helped prove that malaria was linked to mosquitos. It was previously thought the disease was linked to bad or dirty air around the wetlands, hence the name (mal-air-ee-a).
In 1914, the first death recorded by the newly formed Arkansas Bureau of Vital Statistics was due to malaria. Due to our proximity to the Mississippi River, Arkansas had one of the highest malaria rates in the U.S. in the early 1900s. Most of the cases came in counties touching the Mississippi.
The ADH published a “100 Years of Service” report in 2013 that describes a malaria outbreak in Crossett. According to the report, 60% of the illnesses local doctors treated were cases of malaria. Because of the prevalence of the disease, Arkansas became an ideal testing site for mosquito elimination efforts. At the time, Arkansas’s Board of Health, the Rockefeller Commission, and the U.S. Public Health Service sought to completely eradicate malaria by eliminating or controlling breeding sites for mosquitos.
Workers marked locations of standing water and stagnant pools in a “sanitary census” and treated them by filling or draining pits, clearing undergrowth to let sunlight in, and spraying other breeding places with petroleum.
This treatment of breeding sites led to an 80% decrease in malaria cases from June to December of 1916. From 1915-1917, physicians’ calls for malaria dropped from a high of 2,500 to only 200, a 92% decrease. The treatment methods were so successful that they gained national attention and became the gold standard for sanitary workers around the world.
Malaria Prevention Today
We are much more prepared to treat malaria than ever before. Thanks to advancements in medicine and diagnostics, we are able to take steps to treat malaria once detected.
Overseas travelers can protect themselves from malaria by taking prescription medication and using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellants. There is no malaria vaccine.
Which medicine to take depends on where you’re traveling. Talk to your doctor about which medicine you should take and start taking the medicine several days before your trip. While there are several insect repellants available on the market, the EPA recommends finding a repellant that is right for you.
The symptoms of malaria may seem familiar.
Early symptoms of malaria are fever, chills, sweating, body aches, and nausea. Because these symptoms are common in other illnesses, it’s important to do additional research and consult your doctor to ensure that your symptoms are from malaria before seeking treatment at the hospital.
Mosquitos can reproduce in bodies of water as small as a bottle cap. Become familiar with areas that have stagnant bodies of water and be sure to take the steps to prevent mosquito bites if you are going to be around them.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that climate change and warmer weather are making it easier for infectious diseases to spread. Animals carrying the diseases begin migrating at uncommon times or for longer periods, making the spread of the diseases they carry unexpected.
It’s important to consider the relationship between climate change and health care and make preparations for changes that could occur as a result of warmer weather or long periods of severe weather.
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