Dengue

[EightFingers]

Apparently, this is not the first time dengue has been to Hawaii.
I found this interesting:
http://www.upmchealthsecurity.org/our-wo...s-20012011

[Lodestone]

quote:

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Originally posted by EightFingers

Apparently, this is not the first time dengue has been to Hawaii.
I found this interesting:
http://www.upmchealthsecurity.org/our-wo...s-20012011

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Great link; mahalo for posting. I found the poultry-dengue correlation interesting. I wonder if it is because the mosquitoes feed on chickens, or that people who raise chickens are more likely to spend more time outside. Or both. (Sort of a chicken-and-egg situation.)

[dmbwest]

The girls doing better now. 8 and 9 days in hospital ... They share bedroom. One got sick then the other about a week later so EZ to see how it's transmitted .. No one else in house got it.

aloha,
pog

[Bullwinkle]

Interesting read - seems we are not alone in seeing an increase in mosquito borne disease

O.C in Cali just confirming the arrival of new species of skeeters

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mosqu...range.html

"yellow fever mosquito" = aedes egypti = dengue vector

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/aqua...egypti.htm

[geochem]

A much discussed element of global climate change has been this effect - migration of tropical and subtropical threats northward as temperatures progressively increase. When dengue gets to Washington D.C., maybe someone will care.

[terracore]

I found the abstract for the bird/chicken connection. They do not know why there is a vector connection:

Autochthonous dengue virus transmission, last identified in the state of Hawaii in 1945, was detected again in 2001. A seroepidemiological survey in a high-incidence community (Nahiku) and a nearby low-incidence community (Hana Subdivision) was implemented. The two communities studied differed in median household size (two vs. four persons), median lot size (2.8 vs. 0.8 acres), proportion of households with mosquito larvae (81 vs. 28%) and incidence of recent infection (39% [28/72] vs. 1% [1/131]). The average number of reported anti-mosquito actions by residents of both locations remained low, and approximately 50% (42/80) of the inspected houses had larvae, evidencing the need for more effective community mosquito control. Logistic regression analysis of risk factors for infection in Nahiku identified residing in properties with birds in the house or yard as significantly associated with infection (odds ratio 7.0, 95% CI 1.7-28.5), probably as an indicator of unspecified environmental characteristics that were attractive to the vector. We documented that nearly 40% of Nahiku residents had acquired dengue locally in 2001 and that undetected dengue outbreaks had occurred in Hawaii. Our data suggest that ecological characteristics may help Hawaii health officials identify communities at increased risk of dengue infection.

Chickens do scratch out indentations in the ground and lay in them to cool off. In cinder these do not hold water but I'm guessing on Maui these have the potential to become mosquito breeding grounds, however the abstract also mentions having birds in the house. I wonder if there is something else at play here, as far as I know birds don't get or carry Dengue, but maybe its possible they are short-term reservoirs for the virus.

[Bullwinkle]

Transmission
You can get dengue virus infections from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite. Two main species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, have been responsible for all cases of dengue transmitted in this country. Dengue is not contagious from person to person.

In a recent study at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), researchers discovered a key step in how the dengue virus infects a cell. Led by Leonid V. Chernomordik, Ph.D., of the Membrane Biology Section, the group spent many years studying how the dengue virus is released from its own protective membrane and fuses with the target membrane in order to infect a cell. They found that two conditions were essential for fusion: an acidic environment and a negatively charged target membrane, conditions that are present only at certain points in the infection process. Dr. Chernomordik hopes that the new findings will allow researchers to find and test new ways of disrupting the fusion process to prevent dengue infection. For more information on this research, including a diagram of the infection process, http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/DengueFe...ssion.aspx

[Obie]

Interesting article in the paper today.The person in the article is a member of punaweb who posted under yurtgirl.

http://hawaiitribune-herald.com/news/loc...ngue-fever

It mostly points out the failings of the healthcare system in Hawaii.DOH is telling people to contact their PCP and most times there is a long wait before you can get an appointment.I am on the mainland right now and there are Instacare clinics on every corner.

It also points out that using insect repellent is one of the most important things we can do.

[kalakoa]

It mostly points out the failings of the healthcare system in Hawaii.

Lack of available healthcare is one of the reasons people have to move back to the mainland.

State's lack of response to potential epidemics is driving me to seriously reconsider leaving. This time it's "just" dengue fever, what happens in a "real" emergency? (Declare quarantine, shut down flights, leave everyone to die.)

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

(Declare quarantine, shut down flights, leave everyone to die.)

Can I have the movie rights?
I'm thinking of calling it "Lord of the Mosquitoes."