The transmission of malaria among the general population in the U.S. hasn’t been an issue for nearly 60 years—but as NPR reports, it’s a different story in hospitals, where nearly 1,500 cases are seen each year involving people who have been traveling abroad.

In an analysis of national hospital admissions data from 2000 to 2014, University of California, Los Angeles epidemiologist Diana Khuu, PhD, and her co-researchers found far more malaria cases in U.S. hospitals than they expected.

"We do have good anti-malaria medicine that travelers can take but apparently some people are just not using it, she said.

Her study identified 182 fatal cases over that 14-year period. The more than 22,000 hospitalizations they found could also be very expensive, as most malaria admissions rack up bills in excess of $25,000.

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