No local sources for dengue fever cases

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No local sources for dengue fever cases

County News

Thursday, 12 August 2010 06:57

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer
The Osceola County Health Department last week announced it had discovered two local residents in July contracted dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, the first Central Florida cases of the disease reported since an outbreak in Key West this summer.
The two residents, whose identities were not released due to patient confidentiality, were unrelated and contracted the disease in two separate foreign countries where it is common, department spokeswoman Camille Bissainthe said.
As a precaution, both neighborhoods where the victims live were sprayed for mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is the most common mosquito-borne illness, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and has some symptoms — headache, high fever, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, rash and mild bleeding of the gums and nose — that often are misdiagnosed as influenza. The incubation period is between three and 14 days.
The disease is contracted when bitten by a specific species of female mosquito common in tropical climates and is not contracted by person-to-person contact. However, a person with dengue fever can be bitten by a mosquito that then transfers the disease to another person, thus spreading it, Health Department epidemiologist Ana Scuteri said.
“That's most likely how it happened in Key West,” she said.
The Osceola County cases differ from the 24 Key West cases as the majority of the sufferers in South Florida had not traveled outside the U.S. However, Scuteri said because of the differences in the cases, she does not think the disease is spreading up the state.
Susan Smith, Florida Department of Health press secretary, said no cases outside of Key West were contracted in Florida this year.
The last outbreak of dengue fever in Florida was reported in 1934.
While no vaccine or treatment exists for dengue fever, Bissainthe said the Health Department is urging residents to take precaution against mosquitoes.
“That's what we are trying to stress,” she said. “Mosquitoes are rampant. We want people to be very careful.”
Residents should follow these guidelines:
• Check around your home to rid the area of standing water, which is where mosquitoes can lay their eggs.
• When the potential exists for exposure to mosquitoes, use of repellents containing DEET, picaridin and oil of lemon eucalyptus.
• Wear clothing that covers most of your skin.
• And avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active.