Dengue fever alert on the Big Island of Hawaii

Tourists traveling to the Island of Hawaii should be aware of Dengue fever.

Tourists traveling to the Island of Hawaii should be aware of Dengue fever. Worried about the biggest industry in the US State of Hawaii, travel and tourism authorities and local media are keeping a low profile on 79 cases of the virus that have have been confirmed on the Big Island of Hawaii since September 11. There are no reports about tourists being among the 79 cases.

Even though the chance to be bitten in hotel and resort areas is low, visitors should be award of what to do to avoid mosquitos.

Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of four closely-related dengue viruses. These viruses are related to the viruses that cause West Nile infection and yellow fever.

An estimated 390 dengue infections occur worldwide each year, with about 96 million resulting in illness. Most cases occur in tropical areas of the world, with the greatest risk occurring in:

So far, the Hawaii National Guard’s involvement has been small. According to Hawaii News Now activities include flying mosquito sprayers from Oahu to the Big Island.

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In a news conference today, Hawaii Governor David Ige characterized the support role by saying, “We are redeploying and mobilizing resources that we have available.”

The Big Island of Hawaii is currently the only island in the state experiencing the outbreak.

State and county officials are working to prevent the spread of infections by closing beaches in infected areas and spraying insecticides in nearby schools.

Officials have also launched a “Fight the Bite” campaign to spread awareness about the outbreak and help residents and visitors avoid infection by using insect repellent and eliminating stagnant water.

Still, the number of confirmed cases continue to rise daily, and lawmakers say officials need to do more to fight the disease.

People on the Big Island are “confused about the risk, confused about what they should do and they’ve been struggling with finding doctors to see them.

Symptoms typically begin within a week of being bitten by an infected mosquito and can include rashes, fever, joint or muscle pains, headache or pain behind the eyes. There is no specific medication for treatment of dengue fever besides rest, hydration and acetaminophen painkillers.

Although it’s not endemic to Hawaii, the state has the mosquito species capable of spreading the disease

It’s expected the number of dengue fever cases will continue to rise until the public fully understands how to prevent getting bitten.

The last locally acquired dengue fever outbreak in Hawaii was in 2011, when four people on Oahu contracted the illness. The largest outbreak was in 2001, when 122 cases were confirmed after an outbreak started in Maui.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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