A locally acquired case of a deadly mosquito-borne disease has been detected in a Florida county 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 fever over the 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 state to record a local case of the disease is Virginia, which reported one earlier this month.
Nationwide, the US has recorded 1,575 cases of dengue fever – acquired both locally and internationally. Florida leads the contiguous states at 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 amid a campaign to wipe out the Aedes aegypti mosquito, identified by the white bands on its legs, which carries the virus.
After that campaign was abandoned, however, the mosquito – and dengue fever – have repeatedly triggered sporadic outbreaks, particularly in Florida, Texas and California.
There have been at least nine states in the US to report local transmission of dengue fever since 2010, data from the CDC shows.
Pictured above is an Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species which carries the dengue fever virus
Overall, since that year, more than 600 cases of dengue spreading locally in the US have been recorded.
Florida has recorded the most – more than 600 cases – followed by Hawaii with 250, Texas with 47 and California with 27.
Additional cases have also been recorded in Arizona, North Carolina, West Virginia and New York.
Dengue is spread through the bites of infected Aedes species mosquitoes.
Symptoms include fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, severe muscle, joint and bone pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, usually appearing 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 promptly.
The new case comes as the CDC has updated its travel alert for the virus after detecting unusual upticks in cases across the world.
In particular, the agency warned travelers heading to 11 countries and territories to take precautions, highlighting a rise in cases in these areas.
The CDC said it had identified a ‘higher-than-expected number of dengue cases among US travelers returning from’ Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Kenya, Malaysia , 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 rooms or a room with window screens.
They warned that children under five, adults over 65 and pregnant women were considered to be at higher risk from the virus.