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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, May 11, 2002

Dengue outbreak officially over

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

State health director Bruce Anderson yesterday declared an end to the dengue fever outbreak.

It has been 13 weeks since a case of dengue fever was reported anywhere in the state, he said.

"Mosquitoes that transmit the disease live only for two months, so I think it is safe to say the outbreak that began last fall is over," Anderson said.

There were 119 confirmed cases over a six-month period. Most were on Maui, where 89 cases were confirmed. There were 26 cases on O'ahu, four on Kaua'i and none on the Big Island.

Health officials feared the worst when the outbreak began, conjuring images of the last outbreak in the 1940s, when thousands of people got sick and Waikiki was closed, Anderson said.

"It could have been much worse," he said. "We caught it early, and we got on it quickly with very aggressive mosquito-control efforts, and I think that made a difference."

Anderson praised "the efforts of thousands of residents" who made it a point to clear away debris and standing water around their homes where mosquitoes breed. About 300 people in the health department worked full time to battle the outbreak.

But with summer a prime time for dengue fever outbreaks, health officials plan to work closely with hospitals, clinics and physicians to monitor any potential cases.

Vector control crews will immediately spray insecticide in areas around suspected cases in an attempt to eliminate mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus.

They also will rely on a statewide mosquito population survey conducted in March to identify areas known to breed mosquitoes that sometimes carry dengue.