Hawaii reports imported case of dengue in Maui resident
Asian Tiger mosquito Image/James Gathany
Hawaiian health officials are reporting an imported case of dengue fever in a Haiku, Maui resident who traveled abroad, according to a Maui News report Dec. 12.
Health Department officials say they became aware of the case based on testing ordered by the yet unidentified patient revealed the viral disease.
Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Health Department, told Maui News that the Haiku resident traveled to an international destination. Some of the traveler’s companions got ill as well, but she did not know their places of residence.
Because of the possibility of additional cases, the investigation is ongoing.
Imported cases of dengue fever occur on the Hawaiian Islands from “time to time”, according to Okubo.
According to an ABC News video report last week, a vector of dengue fever, the “Asian Tiger Mosquito”, has spread through many portions of the US. ABC reports there have been 82 cases of dengue fever in the US this year, fortunately, none were fatal.
Dengue fever is caused by one of four different but related viruses. It is spread by the bite of mosquitoes, most commonly the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which is found in tropic and subtropic regions.
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