Miami-Dade Health Department: a mosquito causes dengue fever

The first case of dengue in Florida this year was confirmed Monday in Miami-Dade, announced the health department.

A painful illness that causes high fever, severe headache, muscle and joint pain and other complications, dengue is not treated or vaccinated.

The health department did not want to reveal where the case had been presented in Miami-Dade, nor did the agency identify the infected person or his condition. No active dengue propagation zone has been identified.

According to a press release, the Department of Health is working with the Miami-Dade Division of Mosquito Control and Habitat Management to "Eliminate Breeding Activities and Adult Mosquitoes in the Confirmed Case Zone" ".

"Both agencies will continue their efforts to monitor and prevent mosquitoes," the department said in a press release.

Like Zika and chikungunya, dengue spreads mainly through the bite of an infected person. Aedes aegypti mosquito. Nicknamed "bone fever" because of the intense pain caused by the disease, dengue fever can also cause bleeding, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Each year, several cases are reported in Florida among people traveling to areas where dengue fever is present, such as the Caribbean, Central America, and South America and Asia.

The latest local outbreak reported by the Department of Health occurred during the summer of 2013 in Martin County, where 28 people were infected, including four asymptomatic. In South Florida, Monroe County has recorded the highest number of locally acquired cases of dengue, with 77 people infected over the past decade, according to the Department of Health.

Miami-Dade has reported 21 cases over the past decade and Broward has four cases. A dengue outbreak in Key West in 2009 showed how easily the disease can spread. The outbreak began with 22 people infected during the summer and fall of 2009. The following year, Florida health authorities reported 66 cases of locally contracted dengue fever and associated with the 2009 outbreak in Key West. No cases were reported in Key West after November 2010.

The ministry also confirmed Monday that a mosquito carrying West Nile virus had been found in a trap. Nobody was infected, said the department.

On Monday, the department stressed the importance of taking "basic precautions to limit exposure", including draining stagnant water to prevent breeding, removing tires, bottles, pots and pans, wearing clothing to long sleeves, pants, socks and shows and using DEET repellents, picaridin, lemon eucalyptus oil, para-menthane-diol and IR3535.

For more information, visit the Department of Health website at www.floridahealth.gov/%5C/diseases-and-conditions/mosquito-borne- diseases / index.html or contact the Department of Health. from your county.