Dengue fever cases increase in Los Angeles area due to local mosquito bites
Health officials have warned that the Los Angeles area is experiencing an increase in dengue fever cases among individuals who have not traveled outside the U.S. mainland, following the first reported case in California last year.
Public health officials said on Wednesday that at least three people apparently became ill with dengue this month after being bitten by mosquitoes in the Baldwin Park neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles.
“This is an unprecedented cluster of locally acquired dengue for a region where dengue has not previously been transmitted by mosquitoes,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Other cases that stemmed from mosquito bites originating in the U.S. have been reported this year in Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where officials have declared a dengue epidemic. There have been 3,085 such cases in the U.S. this year, of which 96% were in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
So far this year, 82 such cases have been reported in L.A. County by people returning from traveling, Halai said. Across California, there have been 148 cases.
Cases of dengue have been surging globally as climate change brings warmer weather that enables mosquitoes to expand their reach.
Dengue fever is commonly spread through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes in tropical areas. While Aedes mosquitoes are common in Los Angeles County, local infections weren’t confirmed until last year, when cases were reported in Pasadena and Long Beach.
Dengue can cause high fevers, rashes, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, and bone and joint pain. About one in four people infected will get symptoms, which usually appear within five to seven days of a bite from a dengue-carrying mosquito. One in 20 people with symptoms will develop severe dengue, which can lead to severe bleeding and can be life-threatening.
