Indigenous Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Queens, NY

Abstract

Cryptic/sporadic malaria is rare in the United States. We describe a patient who developed malaria in New York City without any known contact with, or travel to, a malaria-endemic area. The patient presented with symptoms of gastroenteritis. Later, she developed hemolysis and hepatosplenomegaly, and Plasmodium falciparum was found in blood smears. Possible sources of malaria could be an indigenous infected mosquito or a transported infected mosquito from a local international airport.

Malaria and Global Infectious Diseases: Why Should We Care?

“…For example, the federal government led the effort to eradicate malaria from the continental US during the mid-1900s. Even so, US climates remain suitable for malaria transmission; recent case reports of malaria in Americans without a travel history indicate that US-based transmission can occur [18]. However, malaria is generally absent from the country today because modern infrastructures, public health institutions, and prompt medical treatment keep the pool of infected individuals far below the critical threshold necessary for endemic or even epidemic transmission, both of which occur in the world's poorer countries.…”