Mosquito-transmitted dengue virus makes comeback in US

Swatting skeeters may be especially important in the Sunshine State this summer.

A dozen cases of dengue, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, have been confirmed in the Key West, Florida area by the Centers for Disease Control and the Florida Department of Health. Dengue causes nearly 100 million infections and kills 25,000 people annually, according to CNN.

Some 5 percent of Key West residents (about 1,000 people) were exposed to dengue last year, according to the report, which was released on Tuesday. The last dengue outbreak in the Sunshine State was back in 1934.

None of the people who came down with dengue in this recent outbreak had traveled outside of Florida, according to a CDC press release. “So we need to determine if these cases are an isolated occurrence or if dengue has once again become endemic in the continental Unites States,” said the CDC’s chief of the dengue branch, Harold Margolis. “We are concerned that if dengue gains a foothold in Key West, it will travel to other southern cities….like Miami.”

Typically found in tropical and sub-tropical climates around the world, it usually is confined to urban and semi-urban areas, reports the World Health Organization. Although there is no vaccine against dengue, early detection and treatment reduces the risk of serious illness. While locally acquired dengue outbreaks in this country are uncommon, there have been several confirmed cases along the Texas-Mexico border recently.

A single mosquito bite can result in a case of dengue, according to the CDC, and the bite risk is highest in the early morning, several hours past daybreak, and in the late afternoon. That’s when the female mosquito typically feeds – or bites. Symptoms of dengue include high fever, severe headache and joint pain.

nydailynews.com