LIHUE — While there is no immediate threat for mosquito-borne viruses to strike Kauai, officials are asking residents to help make sure it stays that way. “We all have a role to play,” Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. said during
LIHUE — While there is no immediate threat for mosquito-borne viruses to strike Kauai, officials are asking residents to help make sure it stays that way.
“We all have a role to play,” Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. said during a Tuesday press conference. “Residents and businesses can take action now to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses by eliminating mosquito breeding sites and preventing mosquito bites.”
The conference was held in response to Gov. David Ige’s declaration of a state of emergency Friday to fight mosquito-borne viruses.
The Department of Health confirmed there are 256 cases of dengue fever on the Big Island, but there are none on Kauai, Carvalho said.
“While our main focus at this time is to work to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses from reaching the county, officials are working with key stakeholders to prepare for an outbreak,” Carvalho added “While an outbreak of dengue or Zika is not imminent here on Kauai, we must be vigilant.”
The last time Kauai saw an outbreak in dengue fever was in 2001, said Dileep Bal, Kauai District Health officer.
Dengue fever and other illnesses like Zika virus are carried by specific mosquitoes, which, while present on Kauai, cannot spread the diseases as well as they can in other areas, Bal said.
“We have a mosquito that is bad, but is not good at what it does,” he said. “Therefore, we have a less probability of getting the disease on Kauai.”
The problem with dengue fever and Zika virus is that there aren’t vaccinations for them, Bal added.
“Therefore, the main, if not sole method of prevention, is being proactive,” he said.
Since mosquitoes tend to breed in standing bodies of water, eliminating buckets, tires and other water receptacles is key to prevention, Bal said.
“Where there’s water, mosquitoes will breed,” he said.
Other preventative measures residents can take are using screens and windows to keep mosquitoes from entering buildings, wearing protective clothing and fixing leaky faucets and cleaning gutters.
“It’s not rocket science, these are easy interventions,” Bal said.
But if dengue fever or Zika virus should strike Kauai, county officials are working on an action plan, said Elton Ushio, civil defense manager for the Kauai Civil Defense Agency.
Government entities involved in the plan are the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Health, the Kauai District Health Office, the Kauai Fire Department, and the Kauai Police Department.
“We have done our best to prepare for and, should we need to, respond to threats of dengue fever and Zika virus,” Ushio said.
Government efforts, coupled with measures from the community, are key to keeping illnesses out of Kauai, Carvalho said.
“By being proactive and working together, we can stay ahead of the threats, and keep each other safe on our island,” he said.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will meet today and Thursday with Big Island lawmakers and host a roundtable with local and national academic experts on elimination and prevention of dengue fever and protection from the Zika virus.
