Florida Malaria Cases Recall Palm Beach Outbreak of 2003

The Florida Department of Health has issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four locally contracted cases of malaria were reported along the Gulf Coast south of Tampa, and another has been contracted in Texas within the last two months — marking the first local spread of malaria in the United States since eight cases were reported in Palm Beach County 20 years ago, in 2003, according to Monday’s health alert issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The four residents in Sarasota County received treatment and have recovered, the state’s Department of Health advisory said.

Malaria, caused by a parasite that spreads through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes, causes fever, chills, sweats, nausea and vomiting, and headaches. It is not spread person to person.

It’s the threat of the mosquito-borne illness that concerns Kathleen Gibson-Dee, who lives on Terra Ceia Island, which is about 20 miles north of Sarasota County.

Even though no malaria cases have been reported in Manatee County, where Terra Ceia is located, Gibson-Dee said that she’s now routinely using bug repellent while working in her garden.

“I don’t go out without it,” she told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “And we don’t go out in the evening because you can see clouds and clouds of bugs now. They may not all be mosquitoes, but there’s certainly mosquitos out there.”

Another resident, Tom Lyons, says news of the malaria cases “makes me take mosquito protection a little more seriously.”

The mosquito population thrives in Terra Ceia because “it’s an island surrounded by a lot of shallow water and mangroves, and ideal places for mosquitoes,” Lyons said, describing conditions with similarities to Palm Beach, which is also an island surrounded by water.

The Florida Health Department is advising the public to “drain and cover,” meaning that residents should make an effort to get rid of standing water that could become a breeding ground for mosquitos, and to cover up your exposed skin and wear repellent to avoid bites. Also keep swimming pools appropriately chlorinated and change birdbaths and pet water bowls once per week at a minimum.

–With the Associated Press