Q:  52 year old male, an employee at LA international airport is admitted to ICU with spiking fever, chills, headache, nausea and vomiting and hypotension. There was concern for hemolytic Anemia. Patient get diagnosed with Malaria after blood smear report. Patient has no history of travel, contact, IV drug abuse or living in an infested area?


Answer:  "Airport malaria"

"Airport malaria" is a blanket term to explain the malaria transmission when a mosquito infected with the disease bites a human within an international airport vicinity. Victim (patient) has no history of visit to a malarious area, or of blood transfusions or IV drug abuse etc. It starts with a mosquito getting transported in an international flight from a malaria-endemic region. Once the infected female mosquito leaves the aircraft, it can survive long enough to seek blood meals and transmit the disease to other humans within the airport, mostly employees. Risk of other disease like dengue cannot be ruled out.