7 new mumps cases bring total to 65

Six more cases of mumps have been confirmed on Oahu and one on Kauai, the state Department of Health said Tuesday.

That brings the total to 65 so far this year.

The recently confirmed cases include adults and children, the department said. None of them required hospitalization.

The department expects to see more cases of mumps in Hawaii as the viral disease is highly contagious and circulating on Oahu.

Mumps is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. The virus is also spread by sharing items such as cups or eating utensils, or by touching contaminated objects or surfaces and then touching the eyes, nose or mouth.

A vaccine is available that protects against mumps, measles and rubella. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 88 percent effective in protecting against mumps, the department said.

The vaccine is available at local pharmacies across the state.

Bearded dragon lizard found in Waianae

An illegal bearded dragon lizard was captured Monday in Waianae and turned over to the state Agriculture Department.

The department said by email Tuesday that a Waianae family found the lizard in their yard on Hakalina Road. That’s just a few blocks from where another bearded dragon was captured in April 2016.

The lizard, native to central Australia, is about 16 inches long.

It is not known where this one came from, the department said.

It was being kept at the state Plant Quarantine Station makai of Nimitz Highway in Kalihi.

In 2014 a Kailua resident found a bearded dragon under his house.

Bearded dragons, common as pets on the mainland, can grow up to 2 feet long, and eat insects, flowers, fruit and plant matter. Larger adults might also consume small rodents, slugs and snails.

Persons possessing illegal animals are subject to stiff penalties, including fines of up to $200,000 and up to three years in prison. Individuals with illegal pets are encouraged to voluntarily turn them in under the department’s amnesty program, which offers immunity from prosecution.

Anyone with information or knowledge of illegal animals in Hawaii is asked to call the department’s pest hotline at 643-PEST (7378).

Hawaii island

Tests show alleged driver in fatal accident was drunk

The alleged driver in Sunday’s fatal one-vehicle crash at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park had a blood alcohol concentration nearly four times the legal threshold for drunken driving, court documents state.

Federal prosecutors have charged him with first-degree negligent homicide.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday identifies Kenneth J. Ewing of Pahoa as the driver of a pickup truck that rolled over on Highway 11 near mile marker 33 Sunday night. The National Park Service says Ewing and his two passengers were thrown from the vehicle.

Ewing, 43, was in federal court in Honolulu on Tuesday and remains in custody pending a bail hearing Thursday.

A park ranger who arrived on the scene said the truck was resting on the driver’s side and had significant damage to the front and rear. One passenger, a 48-year-old man, was pinned under the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

Passers-by had pulled the other passenger, a 53-year-old man, from under the vehicle.

The ranger said there were beer bottles and two nearly empty bottles of vodka strewn about the scene.

Ewing was transported to Hilo Medical Center, where his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.312 about 90 minutes after the crash. The legal threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 BAC.

The 53-year-old man was transported to the hospital in critical condition. His condition later improved to stable.