A locally acquired case of a deadly mosquito-borne disease has been discovered in a Florida province for the first time.
The Florida Department of Health in Citrus County, located on the west coast about an hour north of Tampa, announced its first confirmed case of locally acquired dengue this weekend.
Florida has recorded 23 locally acquired cases of dengue fever so far this year. Earlier this month, eight cases were reported in Hillsborough County and two cases were reported in Pinellas County.
The only other contiguous one able to record a local case of the disease is Virginiawho reported one earlier this month.
Nationally, the US has recorded 1,575 cases of dengue fever, both locally and internationally. Florida leads neighboring states with 108 cases.
Most cases of dengue fever recorded in the US are linked to international travel, and the disease was nearly eradicated in the US in the 1970s during a campaign to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito, identified by the white bands on its legs, which carries the virus.
However, after that campaign was halted, the mosquitoes – and dengue fever – have repeatedly caused sporadic outbreaks, especially in Florida, Texas and California.
There are at least nine states in the U.S. reporting local transmission of dengue fever since 2010, according to CDC data.
Above is an Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that carries the dengue fever virus
In total, more than 600 cases of dengue spread locally in the US have been recorded since that year.
Florida has recorded the most, followed by Hawaii, Texas and California.
Additional cases have also been recorded in Arizona, North Carolina, West Virginia and New York.
Dengue is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes of the Aedes species.
Symptoms include fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, severe muscle, joint and bone pain, nausea, vomiting and rash, which usually appear five to seven days after a mosquito bite.
Most people recover within a week, but some develop severe dengue, which can cause shock, internal bleeding and death if not treated quickly.
The new case comes as the CDC has updated its travel warning on the virus after detecting unusual increases in cases around the world.
The agency specifically warned travelers traveling to 11 countries and territories to take precautions, highlighting an increase in cases in these areas.
The CDC said it has identified a “higher than expected number of dengue cases among U.S. travelers returning from” Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Kenya, Malaysia, the Maldives, New Caledonia, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Tonga and Vietnam.
Health officials urged travelers to wear insect-repellent long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, and to sleep in air-conditioned or screened rooms.
They warned that children under five, adults over 65 and pregnant women are at greater risk from the virus.
