Dengue fever on Kaua’i

Case confirmed in Anahola; more possible

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, headquarted in Atlanta, Ga., has made it official: There is a case of dengue fever on Kaua’i.

An Anahola resident has the dubious distinction of becoming the island’s first confirmed dengue fever sufferer. The case was confirmed earlier this week in testing by the CDC.

Other possible cases, including one in the Kalaheo area that is “strongly suspected,” also are being investigated, state health officials said.

Tests for the illness are conducted on blood drawn from suspected sufferers and then tested. There have been 19 confirmed locally transmitted cases reported on Maui, with another 100 possible dengue cases on that island.

This is Hawai’i’s first severe outbreak of locally transmitted dengue fever (some folks have returned from foreign travel with the disease) in 58 years. The first occurred in 1943, when there were 1,420 victims, three of whom died.

“Dengue fever is an acute mosquito-transmitted viral disease characterized by high fever, severe headache, retro-orbital pain, nausea/vomiting and rash,” said Phillip P. Bruno, chief of the Communicable Disease Division of the state Department of Health.

Dengue fever is generally “a relatively mild, self-limiting disease. On rare occasions there are complications, which can include death,” said Jo Manea, an epidemiology specialist at the health department’s Kaua’i office.

Dengue fever symptoms, which include chills, high fever and joint and muscle pain, may last as long as 10 days, although complete recovery takes from two to four weeks. There is no vaccine for it.

The illness was eradicated in Hawai’i during the previous outbreak 58 years ago with the aid of a heavy spraying of pesticides (including DDT) which are now illegal.

The disease has been rampant this past year, with especially fierce outbreaks in the Philippines and Tahiti.

Hawai’i health officials noted that the disease is spread by Albopictus, a mosquito that bites in the daytime, not after dark.

The mosquitos breed in standing water. Officials are advising residents and businesses to dispose of standing water in everything from gutters to pet dishes, and thath people spray their clothing with repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants – preferably light-colored clothing, as the Albopictus likes dark clothes.

On Kaua’i, besides the confirmed case in Anahola, officially said a possible case in the Kalaheo area is “strongly suspected,” and other possible cases are being investigated in the Po’ipu and Hanalei areas, health officials said.

Monica King said state vector control workers told her they sprayed an area near her family’s home Tuesday on Wawae Road in Kalaheo because mosquitos could breed there and that it was within 200 yards of a location where a case of dengue fever could exist.

Faye Newfield, a Kaua’i representative of the health department, noted that contracting dengue fever doesn’t necessarily guarantee immunity to the flu-like disease.

“There are four types of dengue viruses. Exposure to one type provides immunity to that specific type of dengue virus but not to other types,” Newfield said.

Anyone thinking they have the disease is asked by officials to call the health department at 241-3563 or 241-3387.

Bill Woods, a former administrator for the health department, said the incubation period for the disease can last for several weeks, and that over 80 percent of people contracting the illness do not exhibit symptoms.

According to health officials, the only treatment for dengue is similar to flu: Plenty of rest and fluids, and the care of a physician. Severe cases of dengue sometime require treatment with intravenous fluids, transfusions and oxygen therapy.

Avoid aspirin as a dengue treatment, experts advise.

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net