Dengue fever in 'smoldering' stage, official says
| • | Special report: Dengue fever: health crisis in the making |
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Staff Writer
With four new recorded cases of dengue fever this week, health director Bruce Anderson likens the outbreak to a "smoldering fire" that is under control for now, but could flare up.
The dengue outbreak has infected 78 people in the state, according to the latest figures released yesterday by the Department of Health. That includes three new cases in Hana, bringing the total on Maui to 59, and one new case in Hau'ula, bringing O'ahu's total to 14. There are four cases on Kaua'i and one on the Big Island.
Health officials continue to be encouraged by the slow progression of the disease, which is far from the epidemic proportions seen in areas of the South Pacific such as Tahiti, where 30,000 cases have been reported this year. However, Anderson said it's still not clear what course the outbreak will take in Hawai'i.
"I like to liken it to a fire that is smoldering," he said. "Certainly we have the outbreak under control, however we continue to see cases popping up here and there, suggesting it could be a much more serious problem unless we continue to be very serious about mosquito control. I don't want to suggest it is over."
O'ahu experienced a serious dengue outbreak in 1943, but health experts suspect that this year's outbreak has been sparked by people who have become infected while traveling in areas where the disease is common. On returning to Hawai'i, those infected people are bitten by a mosquito, which can then transmit the disease to other people. Dengue is not transmitted directly between humans.
While Hawai'i cannot control new cases coming into the state, health experts believe Hawai'i can become dengue-free if they can eradicate the mosquito that spreads the disease.
"I think our real challenge now is keeping people focused on the need to control mosquitoes," Anderson said. "People tend to become apathetic over time and because this hasn't been an explosive epidemic here, I think there could be a tendency for that."
The department has launched a six-month campaign to control mosquito breeding. As part of that campaign, the department last week began sending out teams to neighborhoods on Windward O'ahu to help residents get rid of the standing water around their homes, which can be mosquito breeding areas.
Dengue fever is a virus spread via aedes mosquitoes. The carrier in Hawai'i is believed to be the Aedes albopictus, also known as the Asian tiger mosquito.
Within a few days of being bitten, victims with classic dengue fever typically suffer from high fever, headaches, nausea, muscle and joint pains and rash. The more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever has a reported fatality rate of up to 5 percent.
