2 Cases
of Malaria Are Acquired in U.S., a Rarity
By
NICHOLAS WADE
 wo
residents of Loudoun County, Va., have contracted malaria, a rare
occurrence among Americans who have not traveled abroad, health
officials say.
Both patients, a 15-year-old boy and a 19-year-old woman, were
infected last month and have since recovered.
The Loudoun County health director, Dr. David Goodfriend, said he
was not yet sure of the cause. But he added that "the most likely
explanation is that someone who was infected overseas lived in that
area over the summer" and was bitten by a mosquito or mosquitoes,
which then passed the malaria parasite to the two teenagers, who
live a mile apart.
Dr. Goodfriend said further cases might turn up as people visited
their doctors. "But our hope is that with all the efforts we are
making at the county level and by educating our residents, we won't
get any new infections," he said.
The anopheles family of mosquitoes, which spread the malaria
parasite from one person to another, is widespread in the United
States, and the disease was once endemic in this country. But
malaria was judged to be eradicated in the 1950's after health
authorities reduced the number of infected people enough to break
the cycle of transmission.
Still, there had been 85 reported cases of locally acquired
malaria in the United States since 1957, with the Loudoun County
cases bringing the toll to 87.
In none of the previous 85 cases did malaria get a foothold in
the population. Hoping for the same outcome, the Loudoun County
authorities are trying to reduce the mosquito population by adding
pesticide to the stagnant waters where mosquito larvae grow and are
considering a spraying campaign to attack the adults, Dr. Goodfriend
said.
The two malaria cases were reported yesterday in The
Washington Post and The Northern
Virginia Journal.
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