NJ resident infected with malaria, possibly from local mosquito

State officials are investigating whether a North Jersey resident contracted malaria from a local mosquito, authorities said on Aug. 18.

It would be the first reported case of the disease acquired in New Jersey since 1991, the Department of Health said.

Acting Health Commissioner Jeff Brown said the likelihood of catching malaria is low in New Jersey, but he urged residents to take precautions such as discarding standing water near their homes where mosquitoes reproduce. The mosquito species that transmits the disease — Anopheles — can be found throughout the state.

The person, a resident of Morris County, had no recent history of international travel. New Jersey has about 100 travel-associated cases of malaria reported each year, health officials said.

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