U.S.-Acquired Malaria Cases Spark False Claims of Links to Gates-Funded Research
SciCheck Digest
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports research into fighting malaria, including funding a company that releases genetically modified mosquitoes that are incapable of carrying the disease. But reports of locally acquired cases of malaria in the U.S. have sparked social media posts that baselessly suggest Gates was behind the recent outbreak.
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Five locally acquired cases of malaria have been found in the U.S. in recent months, marking the first time the mosquito-borne disease has been spread locally in 20 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and. U.S. malaria cases are usually the result of international travel.
