Southern US Border Sees 143 Percent Jump in Imported Malaria: CDC

Imported cases in 2023 increased correspondingly to the entry of asylum seekers and other ’migrants,' the agency said.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent counts illegal immigrants before transporting them for further processing in Campo, Calif., on March 7, 2024. John Moore/Getty Images

Imported malaria cases in three southern border jurisdictions more than doubled in 2023 from the year prior, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“During January–December 2023, a total of 68 imported malaria cases were identified from reportable disease surveillance systems in Pima, Arizona (18), San Diego, California (27), and El Paso, Texas (23),” the CDC said in a May 9 report.