LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Locally transmitted cases of malaria have been reported in the United States for the first time in about two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC said there are four known cases in Florida and one in Texas. They are believed to be locally acquired, which means they were not connected to any international travel.
According to the CDC, "Locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria has not occurred in the United States since 2003 when eight cases of locally acquired P. vivax malaria were identified in Palm Beach County, FL (1). Despite these cases, the risk of locally acquired malaria remains extremely low in the United States."
But officials with Louisville's health department said Friday that residents in Kentucky shouldn't be too concerned for our area.
Matthew Vanderpool, an environmental health specialist at Louisville's health department, said there are more than 50 different types of mosquitos in the Jefferson County area, and only one of those has even the potential to carry malaria.
"It's really unlikely we would see local transmission here for malaria," said Vanderpool.
So unlikely, he said it would be rare to even test for it here. Instead, he's more focused on testing for other diseases like West Nile virus, St. Louis Encephalitis virus, La Cosse Encephalitis virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus.
"We don't necessarily test for it because it's not a likely thing to test for. There are lots of different vector-borne diseases that mosquitos could carry locally but we have to hit the ones that are most likely and (malaria) is not really in that likely category."
Vanderpool said one of the things that protects Kentucky is its changing seasons.
"These mosquitos are going to die in the wintertime and most of the places where they're seeing the local transmission -- these are places that are always having mosquito burden year-round," he said.
Experts said people should still try to avoid mosquito bites while outside.
"The good news is we have had no local transmission of malaria in Louisville and actually we're not expecting to have local transmission. But that doesn't mean that people should be complacent about mosquito bites," said Dr. Kris Bryant, associate medical director at Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness and pediatric infectious diseases physician at Norton Children's Hospital. "It's important to protect yourself against mosquito bites because they carry other diseases that are more common here."
Bryant offered advice for people who may be traveling to places where malaria cases are more common:
"If you are traveling to such a country or region, then you can take medicine to prevent malaria and you can take steps to prevent mosquito bites," she said.
Bryant also said treatment is available for malaria but it can be very serious if it's not treated.
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