Dangerous mosquito virus strikes down 2 victims - see 10 symptoms to look for
Two people in California have been struck down with dengue fever - believed to have been caught inside the United States in an
"extremely rare" event.
The mosquito-borne illness is rarely transmitted inside the US and symptoms include severe abdominal pain and persistent vomiting. In severe cases, it can be fatal.
A Pasadena resident was confirmed to have dengue last month but is recovering, officials said. "This is the first confirmed case of dengue in California not associated with travel and is instead an extremely rare case of local transmission in the continental United States," the Pasadena Public Health Department announced.
The case remains under investigation, but it appears that someone became infected with the dengue virus, returned home and was bitten by a mosquito that passed it on to the local resident, according to officials.
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On Wednesday, Long Beach officials announced another domestically contracted dengue case and said that person has recovered. Both cities' health departments said the risk of exposure to others was low. Dengue is caused by several related viruses and is spread through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. It is common in tropical areas and causes high fevers, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most serious cases, internal bleeding leading to death.
About 4 billion people, or about half the world's population, live in areas where dengue is a risk, and each year there are up to 400 million infections and about 40,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The infection rate worldwide has been rising, prompting new efforts to fight it. However, dengue is rare in the U.S. and its territories, with only 583 locally acquired cases reported so far this year, according to CDC data: 520 in Puerto Rico, 62 in Florida, and one in Texas. The new California cases were not part of that count.
The most dangerous part of Dengue fever is that you can become reinfected, and symptoms are often worse the second time around, according to the WHO: "Individuals who are infected for the second time are at greater risk of severe dengue. Severe dengue symptoms often come after the fever has gone away."
The WHO advises that anyone feeling these symptoms see a medical professional immediately, especially if they had Dengue fever before:
- severe abdominal pain
- persistent vomiting
- rapid breathing
- bleeding gums or nose
- fatigue
- restlessness
- blood in vomit or stool
- being very thirsty
- pale and cold skin
- feeling weak
Outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever have been reported in eastern Sudan, where thousands of people are sheltering in crowded camps amid deadly fighting between the country’s military and a rival paramilitary force, the U.N. health agency said on Tuesday.
WHO said more than 500 suspected cases of dengue were reported across Sudan, most of them in urban centers in Qadarif. Dengue is caused by the dengue virus transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
The reported figure was “the tip of the iceberg” as the actual number is much higher, given that most of the patients rely on home remedies and often do not go to hospitals, WHO said.
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