Queensland health officials report second group of dengue cases in a month in Cairns
Health authorities in far north Queensland are investigating a new outbreak of dengue fever in the Cairns area. This is the second such outbreak in a month, according to a 7 News report today.
To date, two cases have been confirmed and several other cases suspected of having the mosquito borne viral disease. The cases are reported from Whitfield, a suburb of Cairns.
Health officials note that the confirmed cases are the confirmed cases are dengue type 1 (DENV1).
This follows an outbreak of dengue reported in early December where two women from Mount Sheridan contracted type three dengue fever (DENV3).
Queensland Health spokesman Dr. Richard Gair it’s concerning that another outbreak has appeared. “The fact that it’s type 1 is not any more concerning than if it were any type.
“But we’ve had a lot of recent rain so we would be expecting the number of mosquitoes to go up soon.
“We’ve already seen high mosquito counts in Cairns this year, so we need to be very vigilant this year.”
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a coastal strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range.
Dengue fever is a disease caused by any one of four closely related dengue viruses (DENV 1, DENV 2, DENV 3, or DENV 4). The viruses are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito.
The principal symptoms of dengue fever are high fever that lasts from 2 to 7 days, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash, and mild bleeding.
More serious and life threatening forms of dengue include dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
There is no vaccine for prevention of dengue fever and no specific medication for treatment of a dengue infection.
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