Malaria among members of the U.S. Armed Forces, 2024.

Abstract

Malaria infection remains a potential health threat to U.S. service members located in or near endemic areas due to duty assignments, participation in contingency operations, or personal travel. In 2024, a total of 30 active and reserve component service members were diagnosed with or reported to have malaria, a 23.1% decrease from the 39 cases identified in 2023. Over half of U.S. service member malaria cases in 2024 were caused by Plasmodium falciparum (56.7%, n=17), followed by unspecified types of malaria (33.3%, n=10) and P. vivax (10.0%, n=3). Malaria cases were diagnosed or reported from 18 different medical facilities in the U.S., Germany, Africa, Japan, Middle East, and South Korea. Of the 27 cases with a known location of diagnosis, 11 (40.7%) were reported or diagnosed outside the U.S. This report documents a total of 30 malaria cases in 2024, a 23.1% decrease from 39 cases in 2023, mainly due to declines in Africa and other or unspecified locations. As in 2023, Plasmodium falciparum continues to constitute over half of new malaria cases (n=17, 56.7%) among active and reserve component U.S. service members.