The number of malaria cases reported in the United States for 2011 was the highest since 1971, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Continuing a fairly steady increase since the mid-1970s, the total of 1,925 malaria cases reported in 2011 was up 14% from 2010 and 48% since 2008, the CDC said.
There were 3,180 cases in 1971, although at that time most cases occurred in military personnel. In 2011, there were 91 cases reported among the military, compared with 1,098 in U.S. civilians, 386 in foreign residents, and 350 in individuals whose status was not recorded, the CDC reported (MMWR Surveillance Summaries 2013 Nov. 1;62:1-17).
Most of the U.S. malaria cases – 1,920 – were imported, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. The CDC noted that travel to Africa as a whole increased only 1% in 2011, but travel to sub-Saharan Africa increased by 6.9% "as a result of the Arab Spring and political transitions in North Africa."
