Twelve people in Hawaii have been diagnosed with dengue fever, a potentially serious virus carried by mosquitoes.
According to the Hawaii Department of Health, the 12th confirmed case of dengue fever is in Oahu, making it 11 people infected on Hawaii’s third-largest island. The other case was recorded in Maui.
The Hawaii Department of Health added that this most recent person was infected “while traveling in a region where dengue is common and is not connected to prior cases.”
Thus far, all 12 dengue fever cases have been “limited to travelers,” the DOH said. However, there is the risk of a mosquito biting a traveler infected with dengue and later passing on the virus to a local person.
“DOH teams have been deployed to conduct inspections and implement mosquito control measures in the affected area. The public is encouraged to follow best practices to help prevent local transmission,” the DOH statement reads.
What to know about dengue fever
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue fever is a mosquito-borne virus, typically found in tropical and sub-tropical climates, that infects an estimated 100-to-400 people annually.
Fortunately, most people who get dengue fever won’t experience symptoms. The most common signs of the virus are fever, headache, muscle and joint aches and pain behind the eyes, nausea, vomiting and rash.
Rarely, dengue will lead to more serious symptoms and could be fatal. These more severe symptoms include severe abdominal pain, bleeding in the mouth, fatigue, rapid breathing, blood in the stool and others.
“Individuals who are infected for the second time are at greater risk of severe dengue,” the WHO said.
