The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has confirmed that a foreigner tested positive for filariasis during the Migrant Fair held in Hulhumale' on Friday.
The first case of filariasis, a disease thought to have been eradicated from the Maldives, was detected among migrant workers residing in Kulhudhuffushi during a screening program conducted to mark World AIDS Day.
The number of cases of filariasis in Kulhudhuffushi has now climbed to 25.
In a press release, the HPA said only one of the 13 samples taken from Hulhumale' tested positive. The man has now been given medication, the agency said.
The HPA said the people who tested positive come from places where filaria is endemic. The infected workers belong to India's Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gopalganj, Tamil Nadu and Cumilla in Bangladesh.
Filariasis is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified Maldives as having eradicated the disease, which declared that filaria either affected less than one percent of the population or no longer posed a threat to public health.
The last case of filaria was reported in 2004 in Laamu atoll Fonadhoo. The residents were given medicine for five years. Since 2008, no cases have been reported.
Filariasis is a mosquito-borne, contagious disease.
