{"id":229216,"date":"2023-08-16T12:55:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T16:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=229216"},"modified":"2023-08-16T13:01:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T17:01:13","slug":"professor-urges-clinicians-to-remain-vigilant-about-malaria-cases","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/articles\/2023\/professor-urges-clinicians-to-remain-vigilant-about-malaria-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Urges Clinicians to \u2018Remain Vigilant\u2019 about Malaria Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin sphnews-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-left has-light-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2121\" height=\"1414\" src=\"\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"Mosquito larva in water\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1.jpg 2121w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-755x503.jpg 755w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/files\/2023\/08\/malaria-3-1-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2121px) 100vw, 2121px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner has-opacity-80\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">malaria<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProfessor Urges Clinicians to \u2018Remain Vigilant\u2019 about Malaria Cases \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Following the identification\u00a0of the first locally acquired malaria cases in the US in 20 years, David Hamer and health experts from the CDC and other organizations warn in an <em>Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em> commentary that nations could see worrisome resurgences of the disease without increased efforts to improve global detection and treatment.\u00a0<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar sphnews-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">August 16, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/news\/authors\/jillian-mckoy\/\">Jillian McKoy<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>As worsening climate change and increased global travel create ideal conditions for a resurgence of malaria in areas where it has long been eradicated, clinicians must be vigilant of the disease\u2019s symptoms and act swiftly once cases are detected, health experts warn in a new commentary&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.acpjournals.org\/doi\/10.7326\/M23-1871\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published in the&nbsp;<em>Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last few months, Florida and Texas have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/emergency.cdc.gov\/han\/2023\/han00494.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> eight malaria cases\u2014the first locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the United States since 2003.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldtribune.com\/story\/news\/local\/sarasota\/2023\/08\/01\/no-new-malaria-cases-reported-in-sarasota-for-second-straight-week\/70502387007\/\" target=\"_blank\">no new locally acquired cases<\/a> have been reported in the US since July 13, the ongoing threat of\u00a0rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and the widespread presence of mosquitos\u00a0capable of transmitting the parasite that causes malaria create ample opportunities for local transmission of malaria and may foreshadow future outbreaks in nonendemic countries, the authors write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBetween increased international travel since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, global warming, and evidence of geographic expansion of many mosquito populations, the potential for the introduction and spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, and chikungunya is increasing,\u201d says\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/profile\/davidson-hamer\/\">Davidson Hamer<\/a>, corresponding author of the commentary, professor of global health and medicine at SPH\u00a0and BU Chobanian &amp; Avedisian School of Medicine, and\u00a0an attending physician at Boston Medical Center. The commentary was coauthored by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control &amp; Prevention, IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar, Italy; and McGill University Health Center in Montreal, Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once endemic in the US, malaria had been eliminated in the country since the 1950s, except for about 2,000 cases each year that were acquired from individuals traveling overseas.\u00a0The disease often causes flu-like symptoms, but it can cause serious illness and\u00a0death if it is not treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Malaria thrives in warmer climates and is most prevalent in parts of\u00a0Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the South Pacific.\u00a0In recent years, global\u00a0advances in malaria control have stalled, and internationally acquired malaria cases in the US have been increasing steadily since the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thus, malaria cases in the US are not necessarily rarities, or \u201czebra\u201d diagnoses, and a clinician\u2019s ability to rapidly suspect, diagnose, and treat malaria is life-saving and \u201ca first line of defense against local transmission,\u201d the authors write. Access to quality and affordable testing is also crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cClinicians need to take a travel history from their patients but also need to be aware of the potential for local transmission of pathogens that may not have been seen in their communities for decades,\u201d Hamer says. \u201cWe have good diagnostic tools available for diseases such as malaria, but unless a clinician thinks about this possible diagnosis, it will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He is encouraged by the fact that no additional locally acquired transmission has been confirmed in the US since mid-July. \u201cThe public health authorities in Florida, with help from national partners at the CDC, have worked together to identify and treat patients with locally acquired malaria and have made efforts to reduce the competent vector population. These measures are working and appear to have limited further spread of this outbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As worsening climate change and increased global travel create ideal conditions for a resurgence of malaria in areas where it has long been eradicated, clinicians must be vigilant of the disease\u2019s symptoms and act swiftly once cases are detected, health experts warn in a new commentary&nbsp;published in the&nbsp;Annals of Internal Medicine. In the last few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15205,"featured_media":229279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"malaria","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[3334,3889,2366,1799,3887],"bu-publication":[3516],"sphnews-article-category":[3519,3531,3532,3540,3545],"sphnews-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"profile_tax":[431],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/229216"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229216"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/229216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":229302,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/229216\/revisions\/229302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-article-category?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"sphnews-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sphnews-topic?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=229216"},{"taxonomy":"profile_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/sph\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/profile_tax?post=229216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}