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Fever of obscure origin in a patient living near, or working at, an airport
    Differential Diagnosis[Top] [Nav]
malaria
    Discussion -- not available online[Top] [Nav]
    Erratum in printed version[Top] [Nav]
       *[footnote 3a] First page was wrong.
    Update Comments[Top] [Nav]
  • Three people on a single Beirut to Brazil flight were infected with malaria, probably during a mid-flight stop in the Ivory Coast, when the airplane doors were opened, presumably letting in an infected mosquito. [101]
  • In Europe there were 20 cases of airport malaria reported in 29 years. [102]
  • So far we have talked only about an insect that flies aboard an aircraft in one country, then flies out after the airplane lands. This would seem to put only persons in or near airports at risk from the insect, because insect flying ranges are limited. Here, however, is a potentially different mechanism for trans-national insect transportation: the insect stows away in luggage. With this mechanism, the potential range of an insect can extend well past airport environs. [103]
  • In yet another case of malaria from Italy, a 62 year old woman with no significant travel history, who lived in a rural area far from any international airport, contracted malaria. Extensive investigation concluded that indigenous anopheline mosquitoes had transmitted Plasmodium vivax to her from the blood of a vivax-infected girl from India who lived about 500 meters away. [104]
  • Beware of tire dumps. The standing water that invariably accumulates in tires is an excellent breeding ground for mosquitoes. [110]
  • Other infectious hazards of airline flight include: tuberculosis, meningitis, and hemorrhagic fevers such as lassa and ebola. Of course, the notion of airline-spread-pandemics has been transmitted so widely in lay circles that it is no longer a zebra. [111]
    Footnotes in Print Edition[Top] [Nav]
    (1) Airport malaria in Belgium [letter].
  Holvoet G, Michielsen P, et al.   Lancet 1982 Oct 16;2(8303):881-2.  Pubmed  Similars
    (2) [This footnote was a comment, not a reference.]
    (3a) Mosquitoes and man's attractive power.
  Craig GB Jr.   J Am Med Assn. 1965;191:259.
    (3b) Do mosquitoes like you?.
  Anonymous.   J Am Med Assn. 1965;191:965.
Cites November 1964 issue of Med Chronicle, Johannesburg.
    (4) ?????.
  ?????.   Proc NJ Mosquito Extermination Assoc. 1963;50:250.
    New References[Top] [Nav]

Airport malaria and its mimics
    101.Mosquitos stow away on aircraft [news].
  Csillag C.   Lancet. 1996;348:880.
    102.Airport malaria: a review.
  Isaacson M.   Bull World Health Organ 1989;67(6):737-43.  Pubmed+Abstract  Similars
    103.'Baggage malaria' in Italy: cryptic malaria explained?.
  Castelli F, Caligaris S, et al.   Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1993 Jul-Aug;87(4):394.  Pubmed  Similars
    104.Malaria in Maremma, Italy.
  Baldari M, Tamburro A, et al.   Lancet 1998 Apr 25;351(9111):1246-7.  Pubmed+Abstract  Similars

Malaria in the United States
    105.Indigenous Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Queens, NY.
  Iftikhar SA, Roistacher K.   Arch Intern Med 1995 May 22;155(10):1099-101.  Pubmed+Abstract  Similars
    106.Brief report: malaria probably locally acquired in New Jersey [see comments].
  Brook JH, Genese CA, et al.   N Engl J Med 1994 Jul 7;331(1):22-3.  Pubmed  Similars
    107.Mosquito-transmitted malaria--Michigan, 1995.
  MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1996 May 17;45(19):398-400.  Pubmed+Abstract  Similars
    108.Local transmission of Plasmodium vivax malaria--Houston, Texas, 1994.
  MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1995 Apr 21;44(15):295; 301-3.  Pubmed+Abstract  Similars

Other
    109.Of bites and body odour [see comments].
  Keystone JS.   Lancet 1996 May 25;347(9013):1423.  Pubmed  Similars
    110.Asian mosquitoes carry dangerous virus.
  Anonymous.   Science News. 1992;142:79.
    111.Airline travel and infection [editorial; comment].
  Wenzel RP.   N Engl J Med 1996 Apr 11;334(15):981-2.  Pubmed  Similars
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    ©1986-2000 John Sotos, MD. All rights reserved.  Last updated 16:33 PDT on July 4, 2000.[Top]

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