Dengue fever reported in Florida Keys in two locally acquired cases
KEY WEST, Fla.– The Florida Department of Health is warning that mosquitoes in the Keys may carry diseases following the diagnosis of dengue fever in two residents of the upper islands.These locally-acquired cases mark the seventh and eighth reported in the Lower 48 this year, with over 700 cases identified as travel-related.The infections come days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned health providers of a spike in cases across the Americas.Nearly 10 million people around the globe have reportedly been infected with the virus, which has already surpassed last year’s entire count.In response to the new cases in the Sunshine State, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District has intensified door-to-door inspections, expanded spraying operations and deployed additional mosquito traps.Health experts say dengue fever is not contagious and is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.The mosquito species is known to feed at any time of the day and not solely at dawn and dusk, which increases the risk to humans.“Wherever you have a significant number of mosquitoes and warm hot environments is where you see dengue transmission,” Dr.
Stacey Rizza, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases specialist, previously told the Mayo Clinic News Network.Similar to other mosquito-borne illnesses, the virus has no known cure, and symptoms are treated with medication.Symptoms include aches, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing and fatigue.According to medical experts, symptoms usually begin four to ten days after infection and only about one out of four people will get sick.The CDC says a blood test is the only way to confirm an infection, as symptoms often resemble other illnesses.The dengue virus has four serotypes: dengue virus 1, dengue virus 2, dengue virus 3 and dengue virus 4. The infection of one does not provide immunity against the others so that people can be infected multiple times.Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.
...