There was ‘most definitely’ a dengue fever outbreak in Houston in 2003: Baylor researcher
As was reported last week, there was a fascinating retrospective study published in the journal, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, where the Baylor College of Medicine research team led by Dr. Kristy Murray examined thousands of blood and CSF samples from patients in Houston, Texas from 2003-2005 for the mosquito borne virus, dengue fever.
A female Aedes aegypti mosquito
Image/CDC
The lead author, Dr. Kristy Murray, associate professor and associate vice chair of research in the department of pediatrics at BCM and director of the Laboratory of Viral and Zoonotic Diseases at Texas Children’s Hospital, joined me on the Saturday, Oct. 19 airing of Outbreak News This Week radio show.
During the 10 minute interview, Murray explained why she wanted to do the study, suspecting that dengue could be present in Houston, but not knowing for sure because no one was looking for it.
She talked of the findings which included 47 positive samples.
Murray talked about the study in more detail to include sources of data, how they differentiated locally acquired cases from those associated with international travel.
At the end of our talk, I asked if there was a dengue outbreak in Houston in 2003. Dr. Murray replied definitively, “Yes, there was, most definitely.”
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