Missouriwatcher
Editor, Senior Moderator
July 23, 2010 / 59(28);878
During January 1--July 15, 2010, a total of 6,321 suspected dengue cases were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC's Dengue Branch Passive Dengue Surveillance System, compared with 2,711 cases reported during the same period in 2009. The increase in cases began in January. In late February, when the number of reported cases exceeded the epidemic threshold for 2 consecutive weeks, PRDH declared a dengue epidemic. Dengue has been endemic in Puerto Rico for 4 decades. Although the timing of the current epidemic is unusually early (in Puerto Rico, increases in dengue cases typically occur during the June--November rainy season), the number of cases reported is large, and comparable to the 6,428 cases reported for the same period during a substantial epidemic in 1998...
...Incidence of laboratory-confirmed cases was highest among children aged 10--14 years (165 cases per 100,000), 15--19 years (163), and 5--9 years (91), followed by infants (83), and adults aged 20--24 years (77). The epidemic is widespread...
Large, island-wide epidemics occur every 3--5 years in Puerto Rico; in the most recent (2007), 10,508 suspected cases were reported (3). Abnormally high ambient temperature might be a factor in the high incidence in 2010, and, more importantly, a large proportion of the population might be susceptible to the predominant DENV-1 and DENV-4 serotypes...
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5928a4.htm?s_cid=mm5928a4_e
During January 1--July 15, 2010, a total of 6,321 suspected dengue cases were reported to the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) and CDC's Dengue Branch Passive Dengue Surveillance System, compared with 2,711 cases reported during the same period in 2009. The increase in cases began in January. In late February, when the number of reported cases exceeded the epidemic threshold for 2 consecutive weeks, PRDH declared a dengue epidemic. Dengue has been endemic in Puerto Rico for 4 decades. Although the timing of the current epidemic is unusually early (in Puerto Rico, increases in dengue cases typically occur during the June--November rainy season), the number of cases reported is large, and comparable to the 6,428 cases reported for the same period during a substantial epidemic in 1998...
...Incidence of laboratory-confirmed cases was highest among children aged 10--14 years (165 cases per 100,000), 15--19 years (163), and 5--9 years (91), followed by infants (83), and adults aged 20--24 years (77). The epidemic is widespread...
Large, island-wide epidemics occur every 3--5 years in Puerto Rico; in the most recent (2007), 10,508 suspected cases were reported (3). Abnormally high ambient temperature might be a factor in the high incidence in 2010, and, more importantly, a large proportion of the population might be susceptible to the predominant DENV-1 and DENV-4 serotypes...
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5928a4.htm?s_cid=mm5928a4_e