Malaria-Infected Mosquitoes Found in Loudoun County (Virginia)

Associated Press ^

[RCW2001]

Just weeks after two Loudoun County teenagers came down with malaria, county health officials say they've trapped mosquitoes that appear to be infected with the disease.

Loudoun Health Director Doctor David Goodfriend says one trap in the Lansdowne area netted mosquitoes that have tested positive. So did a trap in the Broad Run area. Both samples have been sent to the Virginia state lab for confirmation.

Goodfriend says it's the first time in more than 20 years that positive-testing mosquitoes have been found in conjunction with a human malaria case in the U.S.  But he stresses there's nothing to indicate that any other people have been infected with malaria.

Both teens from Sterling who came down with the disease last month are recovering.

Goodfriend says there's no need to panic, even though the malaria-infected mosquitoes have turned up. He stresses there are just two human cases of malaria and that Loudoun workers are "aggressively" larviciding the area and will do additional surveillance.

When the teens were diagnosed with malaria, Goodfriend said there was no evidence it was terrorism.  That opinion still stands.

[Ciexyz]

Goodfriend said there was no evidence it was terrorism.

Yeah, right.

[NautiNurse]

Goodfriend said there was no evidence it was terrorism.

Translation: the mosquitos were not wearing tiny turbans, or carrying teensy copies of the Qur'an.

[agrandis]

I have been telling people for years that it is just a matter of time before malaria makes a comeback in the US. We have the carriers here in abundance already. All it takes is someone who travels to a malaria-endemic area and picking up the disease, or an immigrant from one of those areas coming to America and being bitten by the right species of mosquito. It's just a matter of time. No terrorism necessary. It will happen. Maybe it just did. That's why we want to keep DDT around in stock.

[AngrySpud]

There's no stopping dengue fever, either. Sooner or later ...

[Bon mots]

Muslimes brought it here.

[agrandis]

Believe you're right. Maybe even Yellow Fever. The good news, though, is that since DDT is not being used, in an emergency it will do as much good as it did when it was introduced ...... if its use will be allowed in an emergency.

[TheEngineer]

West Nile Virus... And now Malaria... In the same year?
Looks pretty suspicious to me.

[TheLion]

Since our borders are totally open and no one in Washington has the guts to close them off or even to slow them down to a trickle, we will get all kinds of biological results. These bugs are being brought here by the illegal aliens and mosquitoes are biting them and then transfering this to other people. At least that is my theory.

[stig]

Before DDT we need to revisit the idiotic federal wetlands policy. Dry up the swamps and you'll cut down significantly on mosquitoe population.

[gieriscm]

Dulles International Airport is in Loudoun County. Also, there's a high percentage of people in this area who travel on business. I suspect someone picked it up overseas, then came home, and was bitten by mosquitos that subsequently bit the two teenagers who came down with it.

Next question - can people carry malaria w/o showing symptoms, like Typhoid Mary? If so, this person could still be in the area and unknowingly infecting others.

Fortunately mosquito season is almost over in this region... just one good killing frost will wipe 'em out.

[blam]

Equally troubling:

Doctors Link Polio To West Nile Virus

[BillaryBeGone]

Next question - can people carry malaria w/o showing symptoms,

Yes. There's a period of time that the little buggers "incubate" in one's liver after being bitten. The length of time depends on the species of Plasmodium that's been injected by the mosquito. After staying in the liver for a while, they migrate out into the blood stream, where they're picked up by other mosquitos.

[jcmfreedom]

We're on the same wave length. I was suspicious to hear that West Nile has moved West so rapidly in such a short time. We now see wasting disease, malaria, West Nile and next, something else that we've never seen before. After viewing the data from the Commerce Department showing shipments (of West Nile, plague, and numerous deadly viruses and toxins) to Iraq in 1995 (the only year I viewed); I am suspicious that we have been visited by little vials of the virus; infected larvae; or whatever. Remember the mysterious crop dusting planes in various places? This is awfully suspicious to me. The nightly news and Fox news are hinting at the same thing.

[aladyjfw]

DDT once almost eradicated malaria.....but thanks to Rachael Carson's junk science book.....millions again die of malaria each year, many of whom are children. I'm relatively certain that the eco-freaks would rather millions of Americans die than bring back DDT. It really is not harmful to people or the environment. Just check the facts, not the hysteria.

[Henchman]

Great! I just gwt over West Nile and now I have to worry about Malaria. (:^b)

[CJ Wolf]

Dulles International Airport is in Loudoun County. Also, there's a high percentage of people in this area who travel on business. I suspect someone picked it up overseas, then came home, and was bitten by mosquitos that subsequently bit the two teenagers who came down with it. Next question - can people carry malaria w/o showing symptoms, like Typhoid Mary? If so, this person could still be in the area and unknowingly infecting others. Or some of those illegals brought it, there are loads around here. The orginal vector was centralized in a heavy immigrant housing area. Next to some protected wetlands. I would guess we have some malaria carriers there, ones that don't go seek medical help unless somethings real bad. Yes, according to the good doctor this strain of malaria can cause limited symptoms so someone may not know they have it and spread it. Other malaria forms are much worse. This is not that form. Fortunately mosquito season is almost over in this region... just one good killing frost will wipe 'em out. not true, Goodfriend says the mosquito overwinters. yeah. I live about a mile from the orginal cases. He said not to worry as we were too far from the cases to worry about. This was a couple of weeks ago when I told him to spray the algonkian swamp. Which was also just outside the 1 mile range. They won't do that for enviromental concerns though.