Most Americans have never heard of dengue fever. It’s an ugly tropical disease that recently showed up in Key West, Florida. The symptoms include a fever, serious headaches, chills, muscle and joint pain and bloody urine. Although the disease is rarely fatal, it’s downright unpleasant. And it’s dangerous to those with a compromised immune system or other medical problems.
In upstate New York during the fall of 2009, a knowledgeable doctor diagnosed dengue fever in a patient. That patient had recently come home from Key West. Health officials in the county and state were alerted as well as the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Investigations turned up nearly 2 dozen cases in Key West. These victims survived and the outbreak died down temporarily. April of 2010 saw yet another case of dengue fever. The total is now 28 cases.
Dengue fever is caused by a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. There is no cure. Prevention is the key - through mosquito control and personal protection. Patients typically recover on their own. But occasionally the illness turns into dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, which can be fatal.
100 million infections and 25,000 deaths per year are blamed on dengue fever. It’s the most common mosquito-borne disease in the entire world. No cases of dengue fever have been recorded in Florida since 1934. Other than sporadic outbreaks on the Mexican border, very few cases have been recorded in the U.S.
Infectious disease specialists have been expecting dengue fever in the southern U.S. Two mosquitoes common to the southeastern U.S. are known carriers of the virus. Dengue cases in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean quadrupled between 1989 and 2007. A single infected traveler returning from the Caribbean, South America or Asia could trigger an outbreak.
CDC lists rapid urbanization, an increase in man-made containers that serve as mosquito breeding areas, increased international travel and lack of effective mosquito control measures as contributing factors to the increase.
The exact cause of the dengue fever outbreak in Key West is unknown. All the components are there, lots of travelers, lots of mosquitoes, lots of skin to bite and lots of breeding areas for mosquitoes. It’s possible that mosquito control might have been a bit lax as well. Prevention is a key to stopping this disease. Preventing the breeding of mosquitoes is a key but difficult in Florida, especially during the rainy season. The other key is personal protection - a good mosquito repellent.
Russ Frank has been solving pest control problems in Tampa for over 25 years. If you have a serious mosquito control problem, contact Florida Bug Inspectors.
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