Posted on 08/11/2007 10:17:28 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Catching dengue fever is a real risk in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and the Rio Grande Valley, and local health officials should be on the lookout for its symptoms, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that the region is seeing more cases of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, a life-threatening complication of the mosquito-borne virus, than in the past. In 2005, Tamaulipas officials reported a large-scale dengue outbreak that included 223 cases of hemorrhagic fever, and that same year 24 dengue cases were reported in Cameron County – including a Brownsville woman who became seriously ill.
In an outbreak investigation, the CDC and officials from the Texas Department of State Health Services found that the Brownsville woman, along with two other Cameron County residents, had contracted dengue fever locally rather than in Mexico. That finding was surprising, because most dengue cases are imported from other countries, officials said.
“These were the first cases that were locally acquired,” said Dr. Brian Smith, regional director for the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Region 11, which includes the Valley.
The findings suggest that dengue’s reach is growing beyond its usual borders.
Dengue is primarily found in tropical regions of South and Central America, Asia and Africa. Usually the mosquitoes carrying dengue only travel as far north as Tampico, Mexico, but in especially wet years they sometimes move northward toward the border, Smith said. That happened in 2005 during hurricane season, he said.
Tamaulipas reported more than 1,000 cases of dengue in 2005, which was more than 2000 to 2004 combined, the report says.
The Valley typically has only a few cases of dengue per year, Smith said. But when an outbreak happens in Mexico, South Texas feels the impact, he said.
In addition to the confirmed dengue cases reported in 2005, CDC investigators found that several more Brownsville residents were exposed to the virus. The researchers obtained blood samples from Brownsville families and found that a few dozen people had antibodies in their blood that suggested exposure to dengue, although they reported no symptoms.
“Health authorities along the Texas-Tamaulipas border should consider strengthening surveillance for dengue fever, given the potential for future outbreaks with increased risk for (hemorrhagic fever),” the CDC report says.
The problem has died down for now — only one case of dengue was reported in Cameron County last year, said Laura Robinson, zoonosis-control veterinarian for DSHS Region 11. No cases have been reported in the Valley so far in 2007, she said.
It’s possible, however, that the recent heavy rains could bring more dengue-carrying mosquitoes to Tamaulipas and the Valley, Smith said. Health-care providers should be aware of the risks, and people should take action, he said.
“Get rid of standing water, check for mosquitoes and larvae in your yard,” Smith said. “Cities need to put out larvacide to kill the larvae before they become mosquitoes.”
According to DSHS, symptoms of dengue infection include high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain and a rash.
Yeah... the illegals are wetter this year.
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
LOL!!!....Dude.......you baaaaddd!!!............
Time to reintroduce spraying of DDT.
If the criminal invasion is not reversed we will be celebrating Malaria Monday with a large white pill all over again.
Try mass spraying with DDT. Takes care of mosquitos, malaria, and dengue fever, among others.
(It will take a lot of DDT to kill all of those illegals! )HUMOR!!!!!!!
Guess we qualify this year, it has been wet.
DDT is a great solution. Always worked before.
My uncle caught Dengue fever in Guam in WW11 and
really suffered from it he says.
Dengue fever in the USA,we`re getting third-world diseases
here.scary
Wish ya`ll would share a little of that rain with us
here in Tn,it looks like a desert here.
If you send empty buckets, we will send them back full!
Why isn't that happening?
Texas is a Republican state, the EPA is run by a Republican White House.
I don't get it.
South Texas is smothered and covered with democrats.
If Bush wanted to spray DDT down here to save their lives, they’d accuse him of war crimes.
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