| Most Americans have never heard of dengue fever. It | | | | recent outbreak, Florida had not seen a case of |
| is an ugly tropical disease that recently showed up in | | | | dengue fever in 66 years. In fact the U.S. has not seen |
| Key West, Florida. The symptoms include a fever, | | | | many cases since 1945 except for sporadic outbreaks |
| serious headaches, chills, muscle and joint pain and | | | | on the Mexican border and one case in Hawaii in 2001. |
| bloody urine. Although the disease is rarely fatal, it is | | | | Infectious disease specialists have been expecting |
| downright unpleasant. And it is dangerous to those with | | | | dengue fever in the southern U.S. Two mosquitoes |
| a compromised immune system or other medical | | | | common to the southeastern U.S. are known carriers |
| problems. | | | | of the virus. Dengue cases in South America, Central |
| In the fall of 2009 an astute physician in upstate New | | | | America, Mexico and the Caribbean quadrupled |
| York diagnosed dengue fever in a patient that had | | | | between 1989 and 2007. A single infected traveler |
| recently returned from a vacation in Key West. The | | | | returning from the Caribbean, South America or Asia |
| doctor alerted county and state health officials in | | | | could trigger an outbreak. |
| Florida as well as the Center for Disease Control | | | | CDC lists rapid urbanization, an increase in man-made |
| (CDC). That triggered an investigation that uncovered | | | | containers that serve as mosquito breeding areas, |
| 23 more cases in Key West. Everyone survived. The | | | | increased international travel and lack of effective |
| outbreak subsided but in April of 2010 another patient in | | | | mosquito control measures as contributing factors to |
| Key West was diagnosed and hospitalized. The total | | | | the increase. |
| so far is 28 cases. | | | | No one knows exactly what caused the outbreak in |
| Dengue fever is caused by a virus that is spread by | | | | Key West. But the necessary components were |
| mosquitoes. There is no cure. Prevention is the key - | | | | there. There are lots of travelers, the right kinds of |
| through mosquito control and personal protection. | | | | mosquitoes, lots of available skin to bite, and lots of |
| Patients typically recover on their own. But occasionally | | | | places for mosquitoes to breed. Officials suggest that |
| the illness turns into dengue hemorrhagic fever or | | | | mosquito control may have been a bit slack as well. |
| dengue shock syndrome, which can be fatal. | | | | The best protection is prevention. Mosquito control |
| Dengue fever is the most common mosquito-borne | | | | begins with preventing breeding, a tall order in Florida's |
| disease in the world. It causes up to 100 million | | | | rainy season. Use of a good mosquito repellent is the |
| infections and 25,000 deaths each year. Until this | | | | second layer of protection. |