As of Dec. 3, 130 cases of dengue fever were confirmed on the island of Hawaii, 114 belonging to residents of the island and 16 belonging to visitors, reported the Hawaii Department of Health. Adults account for 100 of the cases, and 30 patients are under 18 years old.
According to the Mayo Clinic, dengue fever is a disease caused by one of four dengue viruses, which are the viruses responsible for diseases like West Nile virus and yellow fever. Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes who carry the virus after biting an infected person, and then give it to the next person they bite. Therefore, residents can avoid contracting the fever by taking precautions against being bit by mosquitoes.
A campaign titled “Fight the Bite” was launched hoping to raise awareness about the risks and dangers of dengue fever. “Until we actually have full saturation of the entire public understanding and acting together ... we won’t see an end to this outbreak,” said state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park.
To some degree, the campaign is working. At least 344 potential cases of dengue fever have been confirmed negative for the virus, meaning those 344 people actively sought medical attention. Kristie Lam, a sophomore political science major from Washington said, “I think it’s really important that individual people start taking measures to protect themselves and get rid of mosquitoes.”
KHON 2 provided tips on how individuals can protect themselves from the outbreak, with the main advice being to clear standing water from outside homes, make sure screens are intact so that the mosquitoes stay outside of homes, and properly wearing insect repellent when they will be doing outdoor activities or even outside of their homes in general.
The Department of Health has sprayed Big Island schools and high-risk areas to kill mosquitoes.
Jacob Moss, a senior music composition major from Oregon, said he thinks the government does a good job of containing mosquitoes and people will find a solution when the problem grows to prominence. “For example, Ebola was in Africa for years and no one really did anything about it. It wasn’t a huge deal until it started spreading to other parts of the world.”
The breed of mosquitoes that can carry the dengue virus is native to Hawaii, though virus itself is not, according to Huffington Post. The disease is thought to be native to the Philippines and Thailand.
It is most common in the tropics and subtropics because those places have prime conditions for contact between infected mosquitoes and people with no immunity, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of the disease are similar to that of the flu. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for dengue fever, but if medical attention is sought in time, it can be managed.