State health officials so far identified a total of 56 people infected with dengue fever on Hawaii Island.
State health officials so far identified a total of 56 people infected with dengue fever on Hawaii Island.
According to a Monday update on the state Department of Health website, the mosquito-borne virus has infected 46 Big Isle residents and 10 visitors — 41 cases are adults and 15 are children.
Onset of the illness began Sept. 11, and the latest numbers include illnesses that began through Nov. 7.
On Friday, the official count was at 38, but leapt to 49 during the weekend and then 56 Monday. The number steadily has climbed each day since the DOH announced the outbreak Oct. 27.
“I suspect due to delayed and incomplete testing the number will climb before this outbreak is eradicated,” wrote state Sen. Josh Green in a Monday morning update on his Facebook page.
Health officials ask Big Isle residents to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and see their health care providers if they think they have the illness. Symptoms include a high fever, bone and muscle pain and severe headache.
For more information, visit http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak-2015/.
Email Colin Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.