Hawaii island’s seven-month dengue outbreak appears to be over
STAR-ADVERTISER ARCHIVE
This file photo shows the mosquito that transmits dengue fever.
With no reports of cases of locally acquired dengue fever in 30 days, the seven-month outbreak on Hawaii island appears to have halted.
Even so, Gov. David Ige, along with other state and local officials are cautioning the public “not to let their guard down in the fight against mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit,” according to a news release.
Since Sept. 11, a total of 264 cases of locally-acquired dengue fever have been confirmed on Hawaii island.
The final day of the 10-day infectious period for the last reported case was March 27.
The state and Hawaii County are now “standing down certain emergency response activities related to the dengue fever outbreak” because no new locally acquired cases have surfaced in a 30-day period, according to the release.
“This milestone could not have been reached without the diligent efforts and teamwork by the Department of Health and the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency,” Ige said in the release.
“While this outbreak seems to be ending, our statewide response to mosquito-borne diseases must continue. We must remain vigilant in our mosquito prevention and abatement practices, be ready to respond to the Zika virus, and continue working together as a state to ‘Fight the Bite.’”
Over the course of the outbreak, DOH’s Vector Control team surveyed a total of 523 private properties and 310 public spaces. Of that count, 220 private properties and 65 public spaces were sprayed and/or treated for mosquitoes. A total of more than 1,900 reported potential cases were evaluated and/or tested by DOH disease investigators and State Laboratories Division staff.
5 responses to “Hawaii island’s seven-month dengue outbreak appears to be over”
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I am very surprised!
That is one huge mosquito in the picture; just colossal.
Just the thing we need. Good news after so much stressful and negative news of late! Mahalo to all for their efforts and hard work for a successful outcome.
People need to keep their guard up and the Health dept needs to keep up the effort to reduce the mosquito population. Dengue, Zika virus, and even Yellow fever could be
introduced here at any time due to the large transient population that comes thru Hawaii. We got lucky again but I do not think we are going to be lucky forever.
Dengue especially is endemic in the South Pacific and this would pose a significant health problem for us here as there is a lot of travel to and from Hawaii from that area.
Good news. Points out that the SA report for using National Guard are unnecessary.
The new budget passed in this session for the Department of Health for new positions this year will ensure that the zika virus will never get started in Hawaii.