Alarm Sounded In South Florida Over Dengue Fever
MIAMI (CBS4) - "This is a big deal." With that declaration, Miami-Dade Health Department Administrator Lillian Rivera announced Thursday that a case of locally-acquired Dengue fever has been confirmed in the county. It makes the first time in more than half a century that someone is believed to have been infected with Dengue by a local mosquito, and officials viewed it with sufficient alarm to call a rare holiday morning news conference to sound an alarm.
Officials would only say that the person infected with Dengue in Miami-Dade is an adult male who has recovered from the virus. The man has no history of travel out of the country, leading to the conclusion that he was bitten by a mosquito here that had first bitten another infected person. Officials would not say in what area of the county the infectious mosquito bite occurred.
"The important message that you have to deliver to the community is that in Miami-Dade county we now need to consider that Dengue is present," Rivera told reporters. "It doesn't matter whether it's north, south, east or west, it's here. It's here."
There is no vaccine or cure for Dengue. The best way to guard against the viral infection is to avoid mosquitoes.
"The message we want to deliver is: Fight the bite," Rivera said.
Sandra Fisher of Miami-Dade mosquito control said the type of mosquito that carries Dengue can travel in a radius of about half a mile. She said her department has been conducting concentrated ground spraying operations in the area where the Miami-Dade victim is believed to have been bitten.
"We have conducted a sweep of the area and we will conduct another sweep," Fisher said.
The Miami-Dade County Health Department gave tips on how to avoid being bitten including:
• Avoid staying outdoors for a long period of time when mosquitoes are most active - at dusk and dawn
• Dress in long pants and longs sleeves
• Use repellents such as DEET that contain picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus - follow the manufacturer's directions for apply the repellent
• Check drainage around your home and eliminate any standing water where mosquitoes can lay their eggs
• Either keep windows closed or make sure they are sealed completely by screens that are in good condition
Mosquito Control's Fisher stressed the need to eliminate places were mosquitoes can deposit their eggs.
"You need to go into your yard and check any container, any vessel that can hold as little as a teaspoon of water. And you need to eliminate it," Fisher said. She said the variety of mosquito that transmits Dengue prefers human blood, and will often hover near the doors of homes looking for an opportunity to drop in for a meal.
Dengue fever symptoms include: Rapid onset of high fever, followed quickly by a red rash, severe headache and pain behind the eyes, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and muscle, bone and joint pain. There is no specific medicine or vaccine for the virus and it can range from mild to deadly, but fatal cases are rare. Tylenol is used to treat the fever, aspirin is not recommended.
The severity of the disease depends on the strain that is contracted and the overall health of the victim. A hemorrhagic form of Dengue is the most serious and most frequently fatal variety.
For more information on Dengue Fever, visit any of these websites:
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevent
* Miami-Dade County Health Department
* Florida Department of Health
