A physician from Germany specializing in Gastroenterology and Internal medicine recently posted on the SERMO network on the possibility of Malaria transmission in hospitals, without the presence of mosquitos.
The doctor’s post highlights the fact that in rare cases of malaria, tropical climates and contact with mosquitos isn’t always necessary, in fact, there have been instances of infection in European hospitals:
At least six people have been infected with the malaria pathogens in European hospitals since 2016. The first of the nosocomial malaria cases took place in February 2016 in a clinic in Germany. The affected patient had shared the room with another patient who had been treated for severe malaria for less than 24 hours. It is beyond doubt that he was infected with his bed neighbor because the plasmodia from the blood of the two patients had the same genetic fingerprint. Since it was winter, a transmission by mosquitoes was largely excluded.
The transmission mode could not be clarified. Both patients had no blood draws that day and only one of them had received a subcutaneous injection. Both patients had been treated parenterally with various antibiotics.
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