Updated at 5:30 p.m., Friday, October 12, 2001
One O'ahu case of dengue fever confirmed
By Yasmin Anwar
Advertiser Staff Writer
| Dengue update
More than 200 cases of dengue fever are under investigation by health officials. Most are suspected cases that have not been confirmed by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here's a breakdown so far: CONFIRMED CASES Statewide: 48 O'AHU (total:1) KAUA'I (total: 2) CASES TESTED POSITIVE (In preliminary screening) Statewide: 20 |
For the first time in Hawai'i's 2001 dengue fever outbreak, the mosquito-borne disease has been established on O'ahu, home to more than 70 percent of the state's population.
Of eight new dengue cases confirmed yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one case is in Kane'ohe.
The victim, whose identity is being kept confidential, has no recent travel history, and cannot directly be linked to the outbreak in East Maui or the epidemics in Tahiti and other parts of Polynesia.
However, the majority of dengue fever cases are still concentrated in Maui, home to 45 of the state's 48 confirmed cases.
As for the good news, health officials point out that only eight of 178 blood sample results returned yesterday by the CDC tested positive.
"Evidence to date suggests that the problem is largely confined to East Maui and a few areas on other islands," said state Health Director Bruce Anderson. "As such, it is manageable."
