ORLANDO, Fla. — For the first time since 2003, the Florida Department of Health is monitoring reports of locally transmitted cases of malaria.

Officials say there have been seven such cases reported so far this year, all in Sarasota County.

Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and experts say it is growing more resistant to traditional drugs.

Inside a lab at University of Central Florida, Dr. Debopam Chakrabarti and his team are focused on potential future treatments.

A molecular parasitologist, Chakrabarti has studied malaria for more than 25 years.

One challenge, he said, is that the disease often requires new treatment drugs every five years due to the malaria parasites' adaptations and ability to resist current drugs.

Malaria, which can include symptoms ranging from fever and chills, can also be deadly, accounting for more than 600,000 deaths worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.

In a 5-year study funded by a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Chakrabarti and his team have been working to determine whether existing cancer drugs could also be used to treat malaria.

Aiding in the research is Chakrabarti’s wife, Dr. Ratna Chakrabarti, a cancer molecular biologist at UCF.

With pharmaceutical companies not finding much opportunity for profit in malaria treatments, the couple says they see plenty of promise.

If proven effective, existing cancer drugs can be approved for malaria treatments more quickly, since the drugs have already gone through rigorous testing and approvals.