Dengue fever alert in Florida, 28 cases confirmed
Dengue, a mosquito transmitted viral infection, reemerged in Florida with at least 28 cases of dengue fever including one death.
Dengue fever, a very common viral disease in Central America and the Caribbean Basin, is rarely caught in the continental United States.
Known as “breakbone fever”, Dengue causes shattering pain in bones and can lead to internal bleeding, shock and even to death. Early symptoms like nausea, fever, severe headaches, eye pain and blood urine can be mistaken for the flu.
Dengue fever is not contagious and although once widespread in the Western hemisphere, the disease was eradicated in the 1960s when carrier mosquitoes were killed with the pesticide DDT.
The outbreak in Florida has increased concern for emergence of dengue in the continental United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
How dengue has reemerged in Florida since 2009 is unknown but it increased concern about the potential introduction of dengue in the continental US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"We're concerned that if dengue gains a foothold in Key West, it will travel to other southern cities where the mosquito that transmits dengue is present, like Miami," the chief of the dengue branch at the CDC, Harold Margolis, said.
Health officials are advising people traveling to Florida to use mosquito repellent and wear long sleeves and pants. Residents should also remove any standing water around their homes to keep the mosquito population down.