dengue fever could be here to stay

[Guest]

This video of the dengue experience doesn't look like something minor.

http://qz.com/540001/why-10-cases-of-den...-the-rest/

Could this blonde woman in the video have gotten dengue in Hawaii?

[shockwave rider]

quote:

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Originally posted by gypsy69

This video of the dengue experience doesn't look like something minor.

http://qz.com/540001/why-10-cases-of-den...-the-rest/

Could this blonde woman in the video have gotten dengue in Hawaii?

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Or did someone in her group bring it to us in their blood stream?

From an interview with her I read when this thing first went public they were a group of 10 or so, all camping at Ho'okena and sightseeing all over from South Kona to Volcano until they started getting sick. So any one of them could be patient zero, or maybe they were camped near another visitor who might have been an asymptomatic carrier, and then they spread it all over the South Kona area before developing symptoms. Ho'okena is also a favorite spot for locals too, so once the mosquitos there were carrying dengue it could have spread to a lot of people quickly.

One thing is clear, the only way for this disease to get to Hawaii is in someone's blood stream.

[Guest]

Seems other places Around the world are also having dengue outbreaks. Asian tourism may have brought this strain here?

http://i.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/73313060...le-to-cope

This small outbreak on the big island shouldn't be taken lightly, we don't have many hospital beds.

[pam jones]

I had a conversation with a visitor from the mainland yesterday (Thanksgiving) and know why tourism numbers have not gone down - the news about Dengue is not being shared prior to boarding the flight, landing, rental car pick-up or hotel/condo check-in! My friend (Rachel) asked someone along the way, I forget who exactly, either the car rental clerk or condo clerk about Dengue, and they said they had heard of it but didn't really know anything about it! I still can not believe this has not been picked up by one of the national TV sharks on the mainland. Perhaps it isn't juicy enough for them since nobody has died from Dengue, here anyway. 22,000 or so deaths a year from it worldwide seems significant enough to me, but what do I know?
I attended an informational meeting at Mt. View the other night and asked why they couldn't be a little more specific about where victims are. I don't mean names and addresses but it would be nice to know if there was a sick person say two streets down as opposed to the other side of town, for instance. Since the vast majority of us don't relish the idea of suiting up just to take the dog out, I would bet we would be way more akama if we knew a person within walking distance from our house had it as opposed to assuming we are not in close proximity to danger and merely limit our time outdoors. I learned that the little disease carriers stay within about a 200' area of where they come from and need about a five day gestation period for the disease to be in their system to be transmitted. Also learned they live weeks as opposed to just a few days. That is really scary as one little blood sucker can bite a lot of people in a short amount of time!

[ericlp]

Interestingly, Brazil has experimented with genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes to combat dengue infection. These GM mosquitoes are infected with the bacterium Wolbachia which prevents the dengue virus from replicating inside the mosquito and cannot be transmitted to humans (3). In April 2012, one year after the release of the 10 million GM male mosquitoes, 85% of the eggs were Wolbachia-positive, indicating that the GM-mosquitoes were overriding the wild-mosquitoes which results in a decrease of dengue transmission (4). Brazil has approved the release of these GM mosquitoes into more districts and plan to release the results of this study early in 2016 (4). The GM mosquitoes were piloted in the Cayman Islands and Malaysia without any unfavorable outcomes (4). - See more at: http://www.healthmap.org/site/diseasedai...pacZf.dpuf

[sistersue]

I heard on the news last night that England has produced a genetically modified mosquito that cannot reproduce. They want to send them here to mix with our mosquitoes and after a while Hawaii wouldn't have mosquitoes anymore! I hope whomever is in charge lets them bring them in. ?

[TomK]

Well, if that happens, then according to "Dr Mercola" we'll likely all turn into Prince Charles or Camilla Parker Bowles mutants, and that'd be far scarier.

[Johnd]

Yes, thousands die worldwide because dengue, but dengue itself is a manageable disease. Worst case scenario, the inflicted is given platelets in the hospital. Those who die are the exception to the rule because of having lack of access to healthcare. In a planet of billions, 22 thousand is not radical. Dengue is endemic in Puerto Rico, and they live with it rather well. It is about time we clean up all the trash accumulated in the backyard, wear sensible clothes and use some protection on the exposed skin...dengue is here and it will certainly become endemic given the change to the climate. Bringing in mutant mosquitos may not be the panacea as it is described and as we all know, may bring other consequences. We like to think we live in a bubble but we don't. My advice is for people to stop obsessing, get real and let the science behind this do its job. Most of the time googling does more harm than good.

jdo

[Midnight Rambler]

quote:

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Originally posted by shockwave rider

One thing is clear, the only way for this disease to get to Hawaii is in someone's blood stream.

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It was noted early on that there are about 10 cases each year showing up here in hospitals, so there is a constant opportunity for it to come here. But most people with it aren't active enough to go to places where there are mosquitos, and then to start an outbreak that mosquito has to bite someone else a week or so later. So it takes a chain of events to actually start something like this.

[kalakoa]

112 and counting...

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/loca...eaches-112

To deter bites, people should take preventative measures like avoiding mosquito-ridden areas.