dengue fever could be here to stay

[mac nut]

8 more cases reported today bringing the total to 190

[terracore]

Dengue fever cases in Hawaii spike over the holidays

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/25/health/haw...gue-fever/

[kalakoa]

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news...s-200-mark

Now that it's over 200, they're totally going to hire more DOH workers -- eventually adding one for each side of the island. Awesome.

[shockwave rider]

All the holidays between Thanksgiving and the New Year created pukas in the reporting flow causing these mini spikes in the numbers with gaps in between. Overall the rate of new cases has declined which is encouraging, because even though the total number of cases keeps climbing, it is doing so much more slowly since the Fight the Bite campaign started.

The long delay in hiring new vector control people is ridiculous though, they might have prevented or diminished the Miloli'i cluster with proactive measures, because the next village over from Ho'okena getting dengue was pretty predictable.

[robguz]

Some of the discussion on Milolii is that they're on catchment and those are great for breeding mosquitos if uncovered. There doesn't seem to have been much effort to deal with the same issue in where there are many such uncovered tanks. 200 cases means 1000 have actually been infected. That's 1 out of every 200 residents! I'm guessing the slowdown in reporting new cases has more to do with it being the holidays than anything else. We've put out mosquito traps and they were eliminated from our property in a week. Unfortunately this has been a neighborhood effort rather than something the DOH is coordinating throughout Puna. The limited response seems to indicate some degree of acceptance that dengue will become endemic in Hawaii. Oh well.

[terracore]

"200 cases means 1000 have actually been infected."

Some people get such mild symptoms, possibly no symptoms, some people who live here have NEVER been to a doctor, and some Dengue infections are frequently dismissed as flu symptoms (and it is flu season). I'm guessing that 200 cases means that MANY MANY more than 1000 have actually been infected. Despite all my efforts (eliminating standing water, wearing two mosquito coils, eating raw garlic, spraying myself with 98.5% DEET, all windows screened, doors never left open, mosquito traps and on and on and on) I'm still getting bit. With each bite I think "this could be the one!".

[kalakoa]

some people who live here have NEVER been to a doctor

Can't afford it...

[Punatic007]

quote:

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Originally posted by kalakoa

some people who live here have NEVER been to a doctor

Can't afford it...

---

The most common factor of the centenarians of Okinawa Japan(highest percentage of residents exceeding 100 yrs of age) is that they never go to a doctor or hospital.

[kalakoa]

Holding at 210...

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/loca...olds-210-0

Zika has made it to Houston, TX...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/houston-area...1452628952

[VancouverIslander]

quote:

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Originally posted by Punatic007
The most common factor of the centenarians of Okinawa Japan(highest percentage of residents exceeding 100 yrs of age) is that they never go to a doctor or hospital.

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Yes, but correlation does not prove causation.

Just call me Mike