New Jersey investigates first possible ‘local’ malaria case in decades

A New Jersey patient with malaria has state officials investigating whether the resident was infected by a local mosquito.

The Morris County resident has no history of international travel.

The state Departments of Health and Environmental Protection and Department of Health have been working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate potential sources of infection.

If confirmed, this would be the first known locally acquired case of malaria in New Jersey in 34 years, since 1991.

Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit malaria, are present in New Jersey — but the risk of locally acquired malaria remains low, state officials stressed.

What are symptoms of malaria?

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease, caused by a parasite transmitted by certain mosquitoes and is widespread in many tropical and subtropical countries.

In a typical year, the U.S. reports about 2,000 cases of malaria, of which there are about 100 travel-associated cases of malaria reported in New Jersey each year.

Malaria can not be spread person to person.

It typically causes fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.

Malaria can also cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

In New Jersey’s two cases of apparently locally-transmitted malaria in 1991, both patients had fevers of around 103 degrees.

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Is malaria treatable?

In most cases, infected persons develop symptoms 7-30 days after exposure.

Malaria can be cured with prescription antimalarial drugs, but it can be life-threatening if it is not diagnosed and treated quickly.

Successful treatment of individuals confirmed to have malaria significantly reduces or eliminates the risk of further transmission.

In September 1991, the state Department of Health received two case reports of malaria that appeared to have been locally transmitted — a 29-year-old woman in Sicklerville and an eight-year-old boy in Manalapan.

With treatment, both patients were completely asymptomatic at a two-year follow-up visit.

Except for those two cases, there was no evidence of malaria transmission in New Jersey in the previous 30 years, either, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

How can malaria be spread in NJ?

Locally acquired malaria can happen when a mosquito bites a person infected with travel-associated malaria, acquiring the parasite.

It then bites another person, passing the infection.

After returning home, travelers are urged to take extra precautions to avoid mosquito bites for roughly three weeks.

Such precautions can reduce the risk of New Jersey mosquitoes becoming infected and potentially spreading the infection to others.

Summer and early fall months are peak times for other mosquito-borne diseases in New Jersey.

Mosquitoes can breed in as little as a bottle cap full of water, so residents are also advised to eliminate any standing water around properties, whether on patio furniture, in bird baths, or other spots.

Residents can minimize mosquito bites by using "EPA-registered" insect repellant and wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants, and socks while spending time outdoors.

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