The Hudson residents, who had not visited areas where the disease is endemic, are the eighth and ninth people in Florida this year to get the disease.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published August 30, 2003
SPRING HILL - A Pasco County couple was being treated for a locally contracted case of malaria, a Spring Hill hospital reported Friday.
Scott Hodge, 27, and Morgan Williams, 21, both of Hudson, were diagnosed and treated for malaria at Spring Hill Regional Hospital Friday evening, said emergency room physician, Dr. Raymond Paquette. Neither Hodge nor Williams has ever traveled outside the United States.
Malaria has been considered eradicated from the United States since the 1940s.
Although the Pasco County cases have yet to be confirmed by the state Health Department, they could raise the number of domestically contracted Florida malaria cases to nine this year.
Seven other cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been confirmed, all in Palm Beach County. The cases represent the largest clustered outbreak of locally contracted malaria in Florida since the disease was eradicated, said Llelwyn Grant, spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
The Hudson couple said they hadn't traveled to Palm Beach County. Until their visit to a Hernando County hospital Friday, they hadn't left Pasco County in several weeks, Paquette said.
Travelers are most often struck with malaria when they return from regions where the disease is endemic, such as Central America or Africa. Nationwide, about 1,200 such cases are reported to the CDC each year. However, locally transmitted cases are quite unusual and rarely top more than a few a year, Grant said.
CDC and Palm Beach County health officials have not yet discovered how the malaria originated in Palm Beach County.
And the same question promises to plague local health officials, if the disease is confirmed.
"The mosquitoes didn't just fly over to Pasco County," said Dr. Walter Tabachnick, director of University of Florida's Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach.
One theory on the disease' entry is by a malaria-infected international traveler who could have returned from overseas with the infection but not having any major symptoms of the illness. Some who are regularly exposed to malaria may develop minimal if any symptoms, Tabachnick said.
Add an unusually rainy season and high mosquito counts, and the environment is ripe for mosquito-borne diseases, county health officials said.
Malaria is easier to stamp out than other mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus, because malaria is caused by a parasite that only attacks humans. West Nile disease, by contrast, also attacks birds and horses.
Spring Hill Regional Hospital has sent the test results to a state health department lab in Jacksonville to be confirmed, which typically takes about 24 hours, Pasco County Health Department nursing director Carol Cummins said.
Both Hodge and Williams declined to comment, Paquette said, but were recovering from flu-like symptoms on Friday.
Hodge displayed the malaria symptoms of fever and headaches for about eight days before he sought help. Hodge will be treated for dehydration overnight, Paquette said.
Williams showed similar symptoms of fever and headaches for two days and was scheduled to be treated and released Friday evening.
Malaria can be fatal if untreated. The symptoms are flu-like and include recurring headaches, fever, shaking chills, muscle aches and tiredness. It's treated with antibiotics.
Although a health department advisory has yet to be issued, concerned residents can take precautions by avoiding mosquitoes and staying indoors during peak mosquito periods of dusk and dawn. When venturing outdoors, cover arms and legs and wear insect repellent with a DEET concentration. Also, drain any nearby standing water, said Cummins with the health department.
- Jennifer Liberto can be reached toll-free at 1-800-848-1434 or liberto@sptimes.com
