Four more people found to have dengue fever
| • | Special report: Dengue fever: health crisis in the making |
By Alice Keesing
Advertiser Health Writer
The number of official dengue cases in Hawai'i reached 82 yesterday, with four new cases of the mosquito-borne disease reported.
The cases are all in areas where the disease already has been detected. They include one in Hana, Maui; one in Kane'ohe and two in Hau'ula. The four tested positive from 180 suspected cases.
After weeks of sending samples to Puerto Rico for analysis, the Department of Health this week took over testing at its local lab. That will speed reporting to a couple of days, from two to three weeks. The O'ahu lab can turn around tests in as little as 24 hours, the department said.
Health officials have been cautiously optimistic that the dengue outbreak has been contained, thanks in part to an aggressive campaign to rid neighborhoods of mosquito breeding areas. But they warn that the disease could surge if residents become lax about ridding their homes of standing water, where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
The dengue virus is spread via the bite of Aedes mosquitoes; it cannot be spread directly from an infected person. So far, Hawai'i's dengue strain has proved relatively mild, with no cases requiring hospitalization.
Victims typically suffer high fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, rash and pain behind the eyes.
Reach Alice Keesing at akeesing@honoluluadvertis er.com or 525-8014.
