Costa Rica: Fears of possible malaria outbreaks /update 1

Event

Costa Rican health officials remain on alert for the mosquito-borne disease malaria, amid outbreaks ongoing in neighboring Panama and Nicaragua. Since the beginning of the year to June 11, a total of 21 imported cases had been registered in the country, including ten in a single week in June. Two new cases were announced on Tuesday, June 26; it is currently unclear if they were also imported or if they were acquired locally (autochthonous). This is an abnormally high rate and as such measures are ongoing to lower the chances of the disease spreading domestically.

The majority of the cases have been reported in the north of the county (e.g. Santa Rosa de Pocosol, Los Chiles, and Pital). The most recent cases were reported in Crucitas (north) and in the capital San José (center); in the San José case, the patient was a traveler from Nicaragua.

Context

Costa Rica aims to eradicate malaria from the country by 2020. No autochthonous cases were reported in the country from 2013 to 2015; cases were, however, reported in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, 12 autochthonous and five imported cases were detected.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, chills, headache, nausea, and body aches; early symptoms usually appear between seven and 15 days after the contaminating mosquito bite. There is no vaccine but preventive medications are available. Generally speaking, the risk of contracting malaria is highest at night (between dusk and dawn), when the mosquitoes that transmit the disease are most active.

Various other mosquito-borne diseases are also present in Costa Rica, including dengue fever, Zika virus, and chikungunya. However, case rates are relatively low as of late June.

Advice

Individuals in Costa Rica are advised to take measures to prevent mosquito bites and seek medical attention if presenting the above symptoms.