The Cayman Islands report increase in dengue cases in 2012, most cases seen in three decades
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The islands located in the western Caribbean Sea typically sees a couple of cases of dengue fever annually; however, in 2012 the number of cases shot up to 34, making it the worst year for the mosquito borne viral disease in 30 years, according to a CaymanNews Service report Tuesday.
Twenty-three cases were locally acquired, according to a cayCompass.com report, which means the disease is endemic in Cayman. Dengue had not been considered endemic in the Cayman Islands previously.
The locally acquired dengue cases were primarily see in West Bay with 19 cases. The other four were from Georgetown and Bodden Town with two cases each.
New cases have emerged recently that are not part of these numbers. Since the last update from the Cayman Islands Public Health Department as of 22 December, 2012, four new cases are under investigation. None of the four had a travel history to an endemic area. Three are residents of George Town and one from Bodden Town.
Dr. Kiran Kumar, medical officer of health warned the public of the need to take the mosquito control measures in their yards, “eliminating breeding places and protecting from mosquito bites”.
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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[…] the most dengue fever cases in several decades in 2012, so much that the western Caribbean Islands are now considered endemic for the mosquito borne viral […]