New Jersey officials are now investigating whether a resident’s malaria infection was locally acquired. The New Jersey Departments of Health (NJDOH) and Environmental Protection reported on the case Monday.

A Morris County resident may have contracted the illness locally, which would be the first known instance in decades of someone being exposed while in the state.

New Jersey health officials said they are investigating what could be the state’s first locally acquired case of malaria in more than three decades. The New Jersey departments of Health and Environmental Protection announced Monday they are looking into a case of malaria reported in a Morris County,