(ProsperNews.net) – A rare disease has been discovered in Pasadena, California, and the Health Department is working to ensure it does not spread. Dengue Virus, also known as break-bone fever, was contracted by a resident who had not traveled abroad, making it the first case of its kind in the region. Pasadena’s acting director of Public Health, Manuel Carmona, said the culprits are mosquitoes.
“The Pasadena Public Health Department is conducting surveillance, and field teams have visited a Pasadena neighborhood to offer information for preventing mosquito breeding around their homes and preventing bites,” he said. Mr. Carmona added that the case is highly likely to be an isolated one, but Mosquito and Vector Control teams are deployed in the area to trap mosquitoes for testing, and residents were reassured that they have found no evidence of Dengue in the mosquito population so far.
Most cases of Dengue virus in the United States are associated with travel, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last produced a report on the virus in July 2023. CDC data revealed a significant increase in cases in 2019 in the US and worldwide. The number of travel-associated diagnoses of the disease increased by 168% in 2019 compared to the previous year. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the pattern repeated internationally, and there were more cases globally in 2019 than in any other year on record.
The WHO says the disease is common in tropical and subtropical climates and is transmitted to humans by contact with mosquitoes. Between 100 and 400 million people are infected yearly, and many may not develop symptoms. In some instances, however, symptoms can be severe and require hospital treatment. These include headache, eye pain, muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, nausea, vomiting, and rash.
Severe Dengue occurs in a small minority of people, but it is highly dangerous and can be fatal. Its symptoms are weakness, pale skin, blood in stools, nose bleeds, restlessness, and abdominal pain.
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