Reports of malaria in resort areas of the Dominican Republic, previously thought to be malaria-free, has prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend visitors to these areas take chloroquine as a preventive measure.

In the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Dr. C. Kay and colleagues report that three individuals from the U.S., six from Canada, and eight from European countries contracted malaria while traveling to resorts in La Altagracia Province and Duarte Province in the Dominican Republic.

All 17 patients were hospitalized in November or December 2004 and six required treatment in intensive care units.

Kay, based at the British Columbia Centre for Disease control in Vancouver, and colleagues point out that malaria is entrenched in rural areas of the Dominican Republic, but urban and resort areas were considered non-malarious.

Comments accompanying the report note that a hurricane in September led to heavy rains and flooding, which may have increased mosquito breeding. Also, migrant workers brought into these areas were from regions where malaria is widespread, and could have contributed to the outbreak.

“Because ... malaria can be rapidly fatal, travelers should be aware of risk areas so that they can take appropriate preventive measures,” the editorialists advise.

SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, January 7, 2005.