Category: Malaria
Public Health Response to the First Locally Acquired Malaria Outbreaks in the US in 20 Years
JAMA Key Points Question Why were there 4 outbreaks of domestic malaria in 2023 after 20 years with no locally acquired cases? Findings In this qualitative study, 10 locally acquired mosquito-transmitted malaria cases were reported in 4 states amid more than 2200 imported cases in 2023. Three infected mosquitoes were found in Florida, where all cases shared […]
Oct 8, 2025
Babies take a lesson from soldiers in the war against malaria
NPR Babies may soon join soldiers in the fight to ward off malaria. For years, the U.S. military has treated uniforms with insecticide to repel mosquitoes and the malaria they can transmit. Ross Boyce used to wear one before becoming an infectious disease physician and malaria researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He […]
Oct 8, 2025
New Malaria Case Prompts Testing of Mosquitoes in New Jersey
NYT A Morris County resident may have contracted the illness locally, which would be the first known instance in decades of someone being exposed while in the state. New Jersey scientists are testing mosquitoes after a Morris County resident may have contracted malaria locally, which health officials said would be the first known instance in […]
Aug 20, 2025
A genetic tweak could prevent mosquitoes from transmitting malaria
NPR Each year, 263 million people get malaria. But from the parasite’s perspective, infecting humans is harder than you might think, and requires completing an epic journey within the tiny body of a mosquito. First, the mosquito must suck the blood of an individual infected with malaria — bringing the Plasmodium parasite into the insect’s gut. Then […]
Jul 23, 2025
First malaria treatment for newborn babies approved for use
Washington Post Malaria caused 597,000 deaths worldwide in 2023, with children under 5 accounting for 76 percent of all malaria deaths in the World Health Organization’s Africa region. The first malaria drug for newborn babies and those weighing less than 11 pounds has been approved by Swiss medical authorities in a move that could fill […]
Jul 8, 2025
Panama’s Malaria Outbreak Produces Two Fatalities
VAX Before Travel In 1904, the Isthmus of Panama reported that tropical diseases such as malaria led to the death of an estimated 12,000 workers during the Panama Canal project. Over 100 years later, the mosquito-transmitted malaria continues to impact the health of the Republic of Panama. On May 9, 2025, Panama’s Ministry of Health […]
May 14, 2025
The deadly riddle of blackwater fever: the search for answers over illness killing Uganda’s children
The Guardian A dangerous complication of malaria turns urine dark with blood – but only affects some young patients in rural areas and not others. Puzzled experts are trying to find out why. By the age of six, Babirye Zainab had already contracted malaria several times. Her grandmother did not see it as a big […]
May 14, 2025
Plasmodium cynomolgi: potential emergence of new zoonotic malaria in Southeast Asia
BMC The reported cases of Plasmodium cynomolgi in Southeast Asia pose a significant public health concern. Sporadic reports of human Plasmodium cynomolgi infections have increased in the past few years, raising attention regarding its potential impact on human populations. Further compounding this issue are the morphological similarities between P. cynomolgi and the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax, which may lead to misdiagnosis […]
Apr 23, 2025
DRC Outbreak Linked to Malaria, Officials Confirm
News Central Africa Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo have confirmed that a mysterious illness responsible for over 50 deaths earlier this year was malaria. The National Public Health Institute announced late Monday that laboratory tests identified malaria as the cause of the outbreak, which killed 52 people and affected nearly 1,000 others in Equateur province. Continue reading
Mar 26, 2025
Congo’s health ministry identifies flu-like disease as severe malaria
CBC Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the southwestern Kwango province is a severe form of malaria. Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the country’s Panzi health zone in November. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, […]
Dec 17, 2024