Range of the Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquito
The newspaper Stars and Stripes reported on February 27 that six soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have been diagnosed with malaria after being deployed to Haiti for earthquake relief efforts. This follows the report in December that a sailor assigned to duties in Liberia died from complications due to malaria.
In 2003, 80 cases of malaria among U.S. personnel in Liberia were detected. Military investigators at that time zeroed in on lack of compliance with taking anti-malarial drugs and lack of insecticide treated netting and uniforms.
Malaria is an illness caused by one of several varieties of the parasite Plasmodium. The varieties differ in both symptoms, severity and treatment. The parasite is carried by the female Anopheles mosquito and is contracted through a mosquito bite.
Malaria was eliminated in the United States by 1951. The use of the insecticide DDT and the draining of many wetlands contributed to its elimination. Cases continue to appear in travelers and in outbreaks where the parasite has spread from a traveler to the local mosquito population. The United States is home to three varieties of the Anopheles mosquito which can harbor the parasite.
The parasite in unable to reproduce in the mosquito if the air temperature is below 68 degrees F. The southern United States is at risk for nearly year round malaria outbreaks while the northern U.S. Is at risk during most summers. In the past, malaria outbreaks were seen as far north as Ontario, Canada, which suffered annual summer outbreaks in 1826-1832.
Upstate New York is not immune to diseases transmitted by mosquitoes despite the snowy winters. The annual threat of West Nile Virus demonstrates that fact. In New York State, including Monroe County and Rochester, the primary source of malarial infection was the Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquito. That variety continues to live in the region, and along with malaria it can transmit dog heartworm and eastern equine encephalitis.
Malaria kills hundreds of thousands worldwide, primarily children in Africa. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is spearheading a drive to develop a vaccine against the malaria parasite and to increase mosquito control and infection efforts in affected regions.
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n the United States by 1951. The use of the insecticide DDT and the draining of many wetlands contributed to its elimination. Cases continue to appear in travelers and in outbreaks where the parasite has spread from a traveler to the local mosquito population. The United States is home to three varieties of the Anopheles mosquito which can harbor the parasite.
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