Florida on Tuesday said it has recorded another case of locally-acquired malaria in the state, bringing its total this year to seven cases and the U.S. total this year to eight cases.
State health officials said the case was reported in Sarasota County, which is the same place cases were recorded earlier this month. An eighth U.S. case was reported in June in Cameron County, Texas, and is not believed to be related to the cases in Florida.
The cases in Florida and Texas are the first local cases of malaria in the U.S. in 20 years.
2 more cases of locally acquired malaria reported in Florida, making 6
It had been 20 years with no locally transmitted malaria cases in the U.S. — until the end of last month.
There are some 2,000 annual cases of Malaria reported in the U.S., but the vast majority come from people who traveled abroad to regions with known malaria transmission.
The CDC considers malaria to have been eliminated in the U.S. by 1951, thanks to factors including better screening and air conditioning that seals up buildings, and a level of urban development that reduces the population's overall contact with mosquitoes that carry the disease.
Most cases of malaria are transmitted by infected female mosquitoes, and are relatively more common in Southern states.
CDC officials told NBC News it was not likely that there would be a significant spread of malaria in the U.S. due to the Florida cases.
CDC warns of local malaria cases – here's how to prevent infection
The first locally transmitted malaria cases in two decades have been reported in Florida and Texas. Most U.S. malaria cases are travel-related.
