Malaria in Haiti

ATLANTA, Georgia, CMC – United States health officials have warned that as many as half a million people made homeless by the January 12 earthquake in Haiti now face the risk of malaria infection.
Officials said that relief workers who may not have built up immunity to the sometimes-deadly strain found in Haiti are also at risk.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) here said that 11 cases of the P.falciparum malaria infection, acquired in Haiti, have been confirmed among emergency personnel and Haitian residents who traveled to the US.
“Displaced persons living outdoors or in temporary shelters and thousands of emergency responders in Haiti are at substantial risk for malaria,” it said in a statement.
It said the cases include seven emergency responders, including six military personnel; three Haitian residents who travelled to the US, including one Haitian adoptee; and one US traveller.
The CDC said among the cases, four were uncomplicated and the patients treated in Haiti, while two were “moderately to seriously ill” and transferred to the United States for intensive care. It added that all are expected to make a full recovery.
Carried by mosquitoes, the P.falciparum strain of malaria is the predominant species in Haiti, the CDC said.
Nyka Alexander, a World Health Organisation (WHO) spokeswoman in Haiti, said the post-earthquake tent cities could create more malaria cases.
“There’s a higher risk of malaria under current conditions. When people live in such close quarters, an infected mosquito can come into contact with larger-than-normal numbers of people,” she added.
The CDC said malaria symptoms include high fevers, shaking chills and flu-like illness.
It said, each year, Haiti has 30,000 confirmed cases of malaria, though officials believe the actual number is closer to 200,000. The CDC said a few dozen die annually.
Kristen Knutson, a spokeswoman for the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said while “malaria is endemic to Haiti,” the disease can be prevented in many instances through the use of mosquito nets or simply wearing pants or long-sleeved shirts.
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