SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — For the first time in 20 years, the United States is dealing with cases of malaria that were contracted locally. At least six cases have been reported in Sarasota County.
What You Need To Know
- Malaria spreads when an infected female mosquito bites a human
- There have been six reported cases in Sarasota County
- Officials say crews have been spraying the targeted areas
- LINK: CDC information about malaria
Malaria spreads when an infected female mosquito bites a human.
The Sarasota mosquito services manager says the city is spraying the targeted area and sending crews on foot to look for larvae.
Manager Wade Brennan said they haven’t seen any new cases since June 28, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the sixth case of malaria in Sarasota.
Brennan says they’re screening all the ponds and canals in the targeted area of northern Sarasota and have done a lot of spraying for mosquitoes.
“Since the onset of malaria in Sarasota, we’ve treated over 470 miles by trucks," he said. "That’s nighttime spray miles and we’ve treated over 36,000 acres in this same area as well."
Brennan says out of 120 pools tested so far, only three came back positive. So the general feeling here is their mosquito mitigation tactics appear to be working.