Health officials in Arkansas have issued a warning against malaria after a locally transmitted case of the mosquito-borne disease was confirmed within the state.

“The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has identified a case of locally acquired malaria in an Arkansas resident. The person resides in Saline County and has not traveled in another country,” it said in a news release Wednesday.

That is the one locally acquired case of malaria identified within the state this yr. A complete of nine other locally acquired cases were reported across the U.S., with seven of them in Florida.

Around 241 million cases of malaria were reported worldwide in 2020, out of which 627,000 people died. Every yr, roughly 2,000 cases of malaria are reported within the U.S. and a majority of them are from residents traveling to countries where malaria is present. The chance of transmission within the U.S. is taken into account low.

How does it spread?

Malaria is a life-threatening infection spread to humans by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Once a human body is infected with malaria, the parasites grow and multiply inside liver cells and spread to red blood cells. It can’t be transmitted from individual to individual.

Be careful for the symptoms

The symptoms of malaria typically appear inside two weeks of a bite from an infected mosquito. Sometimes, the incubation period could also be longer and symptoms may appear after a yr or more.

The symptoms could also be mild for individuals who had a previous infection, but for infants, pregnant women and other people with HIV, it could actually create complications and even death if not treated properly. Fever, chills, fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, confusion, jaundice, respiration difficulties and rapid heart rate are a number of the common signs.

In some people, symptoms may appear in cycles, with patients experiencing periods of attacks with shivers, chill and high fever followed by sweating and normal temperature.

Know the possible complications

Getting treatment on the earliest is crucial as some people may develop malaria complications inside days of initial symptoms. Kidney failure, liver failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sudden drop in blood pressure and low blood sugar are a number of the complications.

The patients may develop anemia when the red blood cells fail to hold adequate oxygen to organs. Cerebral malaria is one other possible complication that results in death. It occurs when parasite-filled blood cells block small blood vessels within the brain, causing brain damage.

Pregnant women infected with malaria are susceptible to premature birth, stillbirth, miscarriage and death of the mother. Their babies can develop complications akin to low birth weight and restricted growth within the womb.