pygmy
09-07-02, 12:46
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002
Source: The Washington Post [edited]
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43343-2002Sep5.html>
Cases of _Plasmodium. vivax_ malaria in Virginia, US
--------------------------------------------------
In recent weeks, 2 Loudoun County teenagers contracted malaria locally, an extremely rare occurrence that has prompted officials to launch a
search for infected mosquitoes and stricken residents, local and state health officials said yesterday. Officials said a 15 year old boy and a 19 year old woman, who had not travelled abroad and who live about a mile from each other in suburban eastern Loudoun, were probably bitten and infected by mosquitoes that had sipped blood from someone who contracted malaria overseas.
"The fact that you have a cluster of 2 cases among people who have not travelled overseas is impressive, and it suggests there is a small
malaria outbreak in Loudoun County," said Peter Hotez, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University. Officials said they were heartened by the fact that the type of malaria found in Loudoun, the vivax strain, is not deadly. The boy, a high school student, was admitted to hospital, while the woman, a college student, was treated and released. Both suffered high fevers, chills, fatigue, and headaches. They were given antimalarial medication and are doing well,
officials said.
Infected mosquitoes spread malaria, which is caused by a parasite. Both teenagers reported being bitten multiple times. The appearance of
malaria has concerned many residents, especially at the end of a summer during which the Washington area has been worried about another mosquitoborne
illness, the West Nile virus. "This is sort of fuel on a fire," said Richard Steketee, the chief of the malaria epidemiology branch at the
Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Steketee said the 2 phenomena are distinct. "It's linked in the context that it's a
mosquito-borne illness. But for the most part, the mosquitoes that are transmitting West Nile are a different group of mosquitoes" from those
transmitting malaria, he said.
Denise Coffey Sockwell, the Northern Virginia epidemiologist for the Virginia Department of Health, said she contacted health authorities in
Maryland, the District, and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, and none but Loudoun reported any cases of locally contracted malaria. State and county health authorities do not consider either Loudoun case to be one of
"airport malaria," in which the disease is spread by mosquitoes carried on aircraft from places where malaria is endemic. The malaria-carrying
anopheline mosquito normally has a range of less than a mile, and both victims live in areas that are about 7 miles from Dulles International
Airport.
David Goodfriend, the Loudoun County health director, said officials put up extra mosquito traps in and around the Cascades and Sugarland Run
neighborhoods where the 2 students live to supplement those put up as part of the fight against the West Nile virus. Additional measures to kill mosquito larvae are also being implemented, Goodfriend said, and the county
is considering spraying pesticide to kill adult mosquitoes. "There may be a risk in that area," he said. But he noted that the common precautions
that have been the county's mantra all year should keep people safe, including calls to wear long sleeves and insect repellent when outside.
From 1957 to 2001, there were 85 recorded cases of locally transmitted malaria in the United States, Steketee said, 9 of which occurred since 1995. Among those infected were a 63 year old Virginia woman and a 19 year old New Jersey man in 1998, Steketee noted. More than 1500 cases of malaria
are reported in the United States every year in people who have travelled overseas, he said. In most cases, the source of a local malaria
transmission is never found. Researchers say that's because the carriers either return overseas or do not know they have malaria. Carriers who
have developed a resistance to infection can still pass the disease on when mosquitoes bite. Virginia state epidemiologist John Marr said area residents should remember that it is rare, but not unprecedented, to have local malaria transmissions. The fact that the malaria in Loudoun is not the life-threatening falciparum strain is also a blessing. "Fortunately, this is a very benign malaria," he said. "It's a curiosity more than a public health concern."
[byline: staff writer Rosalind S Helderman and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt]
--
ProMED-mail
[ProMED-mail has recorded 2 similar US cases, one in Georgia in 1997 and one also in Virginia in 1998. The report suggests that airport malaria
should be ruled out, but mosquitoes can also ride in cars and the cases are only 7 miles from Dulles International Airport. Travellers from
_Plasmodium vivax_-endemic countries may carry gametocytes in their blood for weeks and if immune may be completely asymptomatic. The local mosquitoes have the capacity for transmission and it is almost impossible to avoid such cases
during a warm summer. The cases act as a reminder that a malaria blood film should be taken from patients with unexplained fever, even without a
travel history. _ Mod.EP]
<http://www.promedmail.org>
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002
Source: The Washington Post [edited]
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43343-2002Sep5.html>
Cases of _Plasmodium. vivax_ malaria in Virginia, US
--------------------------------------------------
In recent weeks, 2 Loudoun County teenagers contracted malaria locally, an extremely rare occurrence that has prompted officials to launch a
search for infected mosquitoes and stricken residents, local and state health officials said yesterday. Officials said a 15 year old boy and a 19 year old woman, who had not travelled abroad and who live about a mile from each other in suburban eastern Loudoun, were probably bitten and infected by mosquitoes that had sipped blood from someone who contracted malaria overseas.
"The fact that you have a cluster of 2 cases among people who have not travelled overseas is impressive, and it suggests there is a small
malaria outbreak in Loudoun County," said Peter Hotez, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University. Officials said they were heartened by the fact that the type of malaria found in Loudoun, the vivax strain, is not deadly. The boy, a high school student, was admitted to hospital, while the woman, a college student, was treated and released. Both suffered high fevers, chills, fatigue, and headaches. They were given antimalarial medication and are doing well,
officials said.
Infected mosquitoes spread malaria, which is caused by a parasite. Both teenagers reported being bitten multiple times. The appearance of
malaria has concerned many residents, especially at the end of a summer during which the Washington area has been worried about another mosquitoborne
illness, the West Nile virus. "This is sort of fuel on a fire," said Richard Steketee, the chief of the malaria epidemiology branch at the
Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But Steketee said the 2 phenomena are distinct. "It's linked in the context that it's a
mosquito-borne illness. But for the most part, the mosquitoes that are transmitting West Nile are a different group of mosquitoes" from those
transmitting malaria, he said.
Denise Coffey Sockwell, the Northern Virginia epidemiologist for the Virginia Department of Health, said she contacted health authorities in
Maryland, the District, and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, and none but Loudoun reported any cases of locally contracted malaria. State and county health authorities do not consider either Loudoun case to be one of
"airport malaria," in which the disease is spread by mosquitoes carried on aircraft from places where malaria is endemic. The malaria-carrying
anopheline mosquito normally has a range of less than a mile, and both victims live in areas that are about 7 miles from Dulles International
Airport.
David Goodfriend, the Loudoun County health director, said officials put up extra mosquito traps in and around the Cascades and Sugarland Run
neighborhoods where the 2 students live to supplement those put up as part of the fight against the West Nile virus. Additional measures to kill mosquito larvae are also being implemented, Goodfriend said, and the county
is considering spraying pesticide to kill adult mosquitoes. "There may be a risk in that area," he said. But he noted that the common precautions
that have been the county's mantra all year should keep people safe, including calls to wear long sleeves and insect repellent when outside.
From 1957 to 2001, there were 85 recorded cases of locally transmitted malaria in the United States, Steketee said, 9 of which occurred since 1995. Among those infected were a 63 year old Virginia woman and a 19 year old New Jersey man in 1998, Steketee noted. More than 1500 cases of malaria
are reported in the United States every year in people who have travelled overseas, he said. In most cases, the source of a local malaria
transmission is never found. Researchers say that's because the carriers either return overseas or do not know they have malaria. Carriers who
have developed a resistance to infection can still pass the disease on when mosquitoes bite. Virginia state epidemiologist John Marr said area residents should remember that it is rare, but not unprecedented, to have local malaria transmissions. The fact that the malaria in Loudoun is not the life-threatening falciparum strain is also a blessing. "Fortunately, this is a very benign malaria," he said. "It's a curiosity more than a public health concern."
[byline: staff writer Rosalind S Helderman and staff researcher Bobbye Pratt]
--
ProMED-mail
[ProMED-mail has recorded 2 similar US cases, one in Georgia in 1997 and one also in Virginia in 1998. The report suggests that airport malaria
should be ruled out, but mosquitoes can also ride in cars and the cases are only 7 miles from Dulles International Airport. Travellers from
_Plasmodium vivax_-endemic countries may carry gametocytes in their blood for weeks and if immune may be completely asymptomatic. The local mosquitoes have the capacity for transmission and it is almost impossible to avoid such cases
during a warm summer. The cases act as a reminder that a malaria blood film should be taken from patients with unexplained fever, even without a
travel history. _ Mod.EP]