Health Alert
Malaria in Costa Rica
Updated October 3, 2017What is the current situation?
The Costa Rican Ministry of Health has reported limited local transmission of malaria in Matina Canton in Limón Province, Sarapiquí Canton in Heredia Province, and Pital District in San Carlos Canton in Alajuela Province. Local transmission means that mosquitoes in the area are infected with malaria and spreading it to people. Other than a small outbreak at the end of 2016, this is the first local transmission of malaria in Costa Rica since 2011. Public health authorities are responding to this outbreak by enhancing malaria surveillance, making sure that patients are diagnosed and treated promptly, and educating the community and health care workers on malaria.
What can travelers do to prevent malaria?
Because malaria is spread by mosquito bites, travelers to Costa Rica should prevent mosquito bites. This includes using insect repellent when outdoors, wearing protective clothing, and sleeping in an air-conditioned or well-screened room or under an insecticide-treated bed net. Learn more about malaria, how to prevent it, and what to do if you think you are infected at CDC’s malaria page for travelers. At this time, CDC does not recommend that travelers to Costa Rica take medicine to prevent malaria.
Traveler Information
Malaria Traveler Brochure
Avoid Bug Bites
CDC Malaria Website
Clinician Information
Malaria in CDC Health Information for International Travel – “Yellow Book”
Malaria and Travelers
Malaria Diagnosis & Treatment in the United States
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Page created: September 22, 2017
Page last updated: September 22, 2017
Page last reviewed: September 22, 2017
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
Division of Global Migration and Quarantine (DGMQ)