Any word on Dengue creeping into the US?

[Gruenemann]

I know of two cases in the Brownsville, TX/ Matamoros, Tamps. area, and I don't know that many people down there! Is this just a fluke or is it just not getting any publicity anywhere? Both cases are of the nastier hemorrhagic form of the disease.

[jus_the_facts]

1. Holy CRAP...glad there's a frost in the forecast this week then....

:scared:

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Dengue happens in the U.S.

Not often, but it does...here's an excerpt from the CDC:

"Urban dengue is common in most countries of the Americas, but has been rare in the United States for more than half a century. In 1999 we investigated an outbreak of the disease that affected Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas, United States, contiguous cities that straddle the international border. The incidence of recent cases, indicated by immunoglobulin M antibody serosurvey, was higher in Nuevo Laredo, although the vector, Aedes aegypti, was more abundant in Laredo. Environmental factors that affect contact with mosquitoes, such as air-conditioning and human behavior, appear to account for this paradox. We conclude that the low prevalence of dengue in the United States is primarily due to economic, rather than climatic, factors."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no1/02-0220.htm

[lonestarnot]

3. Damn!

[flordehinojos]

4. what is DENGUE?

[leftchick]

5. Hemorrhagic Fever

http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/

not a nice way to die.

[crispini]

7. It sux, but it isn't necessarily fatal.

I've had it.

[laruemtt]

9. crispini, if you don't mind my asking,

what was the treatment? glad you're okay now!

[crispini]

12. I had it in Thailand.

It hurt like a M-F'er .... they admitted me to the hospital but to this day I'm not entirely sure what medicines they gave me, since I was too busy complaining about how much it hurt. :P

[flordehinojos]

10. thanks for the link O:-)

[Ladyhawk]

6. But, but, but I thought we were supposed to be afraid of bird flu.

Dammit, now I don't know what to be afraid of!

[Jara sang]

8. It's in Hawaii.

[Avalux]

11. There are cases of dengue fever every year and most are mild

The complicated form of which you speak, dengue hemorrhagic fever, occurs in isolated cases. It's a virus, spread by the Aedes mosquito which is found in most southern states. The mosquito bites an infected person, then bites another and infects them. It's not airborne, so it can't be caught by person to person contact. The worst symptom is bone pain, so it's ofen called "break-bone fever".

There's no treatment for it; prevention is key by controlling mosquito populations.

[Horse with no Name]

13. Dengue

Symptoms and signs appear 5-8 days after a bite by an infected mosquito and include fever, rash, severe joint and muscle pains, and headache.
These symptoms often subside after about 3 days, recur a few days later and then subside again.
Serious complications are uncommon.
Full recovery may take several weeks. The symptoms of severe muscle and bone pain have led dengue to be called breakbone fever.
No specific treatment is available for dengue, although analgesics may relieve symptoms.
No vaccine is available.
(sorry can't link--I transcribed out of a medical book)

[Bridget Burke]

14. My grandmother had it as a young woman, in Corpus Christi TX

Not the hemorrhagic form. But she said it did hurt quite a bit.