Doctor who survived malaria several times urges Sarasota, Manatee to take precautions after recent cases

FORT MYERS, Fla. - A Florida doctor who has survived malaria several times urged the community in Sarasota and Manatee counties Wednesday to take precautions following six confirmed locally-transmitted cases.

Dr. Immanuel Amissah, a family medicine physician with WellMed at North Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers, was born in Africa and lived there for 30 years. He said malaria was so common, he caught it so many times over the years that he lost track.

"I would say once every three months," Dr. Amissah told FOX 13. "I start sweating profusely. The temperature would be cold, but I'd be sweating. I'd get joint pains, my knee especially. [It would be] difficult to walk sometimes... I remember my grandma taking us to the hospital all the time. And any time you're sick, it's malaria."

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After Amissah became a doctor, he has treated patients with malaria countless times. He said he saw how dangerous the disease can be.

"It's a very deadly disease. If it's not treated on time, you can have complications that you can lose your life," he said.

Malaria is caused by a parasite and spread by mosquitoes. The cases in Sarasota County are the first locally-transmitted cases in the US in 20 years.

Since the end of May, crews have sprayed 470 miles by truck and more than 36,000 acres by air. They continue to focus on Desoto Acres and the Kensington area.

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"We've had local transmission. Multiple people have caught it. So we need everybody to take that action and take it personal," said Wade Brennan, the manager of Sarasota County's Mosquito Management. 

Dr. Amissah told FOX 13 malaria is most dangerous if it enters the brain. It can, however, also stay dormant in a person's liver for years before causing symptoms.

He said it's important to take the county's warnings seriously.

"You don't have any immunity," Amissah said. "The symptoms are flu-like symptoms. [But] if you treat it like a flu, it might be too late."

Experts are urging people, especially those in the Sarasota-Manatee area, to take precautions, including getting rid of any standing water; wearing long sleeves and pants; and wearing mosquito repellent with DEET whenever possible.