U.S. Malaria Cases Highest in 45 Years – Holding the Line to Protect Americans In late 2020, an otherwise healthy woman in her 40s returned home to Tennessee after a mission trip to a sub-Saharan African country. Following three days of fever, chills, sweats, and headache, she went to a local emergency room and was tested for COVID-19 and malaria. Her condition rapidly worsened. When her blood test came back positive for malaria six days later, her doctors contacted CDC’s expert 24-hour malaria hotline for guidance on treatment. After that call, her care team arranged for her to be air-lifted to another facility where she could start an urgent course of antimalarial medicines. Sadly, it was too late; she died a few days later.