Tweet
Dengue outbreak risk in US investigated
November 14, 2013
Researchers are studying reasons why dengue fever continues to spread from Key West, Fla., and not in Tucson, Ariz., which has an established vector population and shares similar social and behavioral characteristics with the Key West population.
"Key West and Tucson share a lot of risk factors," Kacey C. Ernst, PhD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Arizona in Tuscon, said in a press release. "Even in arid Tucson we have an established population of mosquitoes that can carry dengue, and people here spend a lot of time outdoors, but we have yet to see evidence of locally acquired infections."
November 15, 2013
Dengue Fever Makes Inroads into the U.S.
The mosquito-borne infection is cropping up in Florida, but mysteriously not in similar regions in the nation
By Dina Fine Maron
Most Americans lose little sleep over dengue fever. The mosquito-borne infection is a leading killer in the tropics and subtropics, but it’s been a long-held belief that ubiquitous air-conditioning, few open windows and limited time outdoors protects us from dengue. And in fact, for the past century most U.S. cases (except those near the Texas–Mexico border) were isolated to immigrants or travelers.
In recent years, however, locally acquired cases of the disease have started to appear in pockets of the U.S. Now, researchers fear dengue could be gaining a significant foothold here.
More @ Scientific American
November 14, 2013
Researchers are studying reasons why dengue fever continues to spread from Key West, Fla., and not in Tucson, Ariz., which has an established vector population and shares similar social and behavioral characteristics with the Key West population.
"Key West and Tucson share a lot of risk factors," Kacey C. Ernst, PhD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Arizona in Tuscon, said in a press release. "Even in arid Tucson we have an established population of mosquitoes that can carry dengue, and people here spend a lot of time outdoors, but we have yet to see evidence of locally acquired infections."
"It's still a mystery as to why dengue infection has not shown up [in Tucson],"
November 15, 2013
Dengue Fever Makes Inroads into the U.S.
The mosquito-borne infection is cropping up in Florida, but mysteriously not in similar regions in the nation
By Dina Fine Maron
Most Americans lose little sleep over dengue fever. The mosquito-borne infection is a leading killer in the tropics and subtropics, but it’s been a long-held belief that ubiquitous air-conditioning, few open windows and limited time outdoors protects us from dengue. And in fact, for the past century most U.S. cases (except those near the Texas–Mexico border) were isolated to immigrants or travelers.
In recent years, however, locally acquired cases of the disease have started to appear in pockets of the U.S. Now, researchers fear dengue could be gaining a significant foothold here.
More @ Scientific American
Comment