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CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
The Aedes albopictus mosquito is the main transmitter of dengue fever in Hawaii.
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa >> Two people in American Samoa have died from dengue fever and two others have been diagnosed with the disease in the U.S. territory.
The government-owned LBJ Medical Center confirmed this week that a man in his 30s and a 10-month-old child died in May.
The medical center’s infection prevention officer, Charmaine Mageo, says both died within days of being admitted to the intensive care unit.
She told the Pago Pago newspaper Samoa News there hasn’t been an outbreak of dengue fever in America Samoa since 2009. The territory’s health department is monitoring any suspected case.
The disease is transmitted by mosquito. It can cause fever, severe joint pain and headaches. There is no treatment.
Dengue has been spreading in recent years, with 50 million to 100 million infections a year in more than 100 countries.
