HOLLYWOOD HILLS—On October 31, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) confirmed 11 new cases of the mosquito-borne Dengue fever in SOCAL including seven in Baldwin Park, two in El Monte, one case in Panorama City, and one in Hollywood Hills.
Photo Credit By Lucas Sankey
According to The Centers For Disease Control (CDC), most cases of Dengue are believed to be brought from those traveling in mosquito-infested areas. Dengue is not transferred from person to person. Two of the residents infected with the virus have not traveled to areas prone to Dengue.
The following information about how one may be infected with the Dengue virus was taken directly from the LACDPH website:
“Dengue is a disease caused by a virus that spreads to people mainly through mosquito bites. Dengue is common in tropical and subtropical regions such as the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico), Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands.
See CDC Areas with Risk of Dengue. Because the types of mosquitoes that spread dengue are common throughout many areas of the United States, local spread of dengue is possible. In the continental U.S., cases of locally spread dengue have been rare, with a few reported in Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and more recently, Arizona and California.”
Dengue fever is typically a short-lived virus that only stays in the body anywhere from two to seven days. According to the LACDPH website, one in 20 individuals may develop severe or life-threatening symptoms.
There is no medication known to treat dengue other than some recommended over-the-counter (OTC) medication for fever and pain.
LACDPH notes that the vaccine is not approved for use in U.S. travelers visiting, but not residing in dengue-ridden areas.
Precautions may be taken, as this infection through prevention by cleaning areas that may be collecting moisture, and standing water where mosquitos may breed, keeping pool well maintained, and stocking stock ponds with the right type of fish to eat mosquitos and their larvae.
There is an entire section attributed to the best types of mosquito sprays to use on the LACDPH website.
According to the CDC website, Dengue viruses are spread through the bites of infected Aedes species of mosquitoes. This is not the same mosquito that carries malaria.
The Aedes mosquito is the same type of mosquito that spreads other viruses such as Zika and Chikungunya.
As with other mosquitoes, the Aedes typically lay their eggs in buckets, bowls, flowerpots, tires, or any other container with stagnant water.
The people loving mosquitoes become infected by individuals that have the virus, and then the mosquitoes carry the virus to other people.
By Sharon