The state Department of Health reported Tuesday that Hawaii Island’s dengue fever outbreak has now infected a confirmed total of 170 people.
The state Department of Health reported Tuesday that Hawaii Island’s dengue fever outbreak has now infected a confirmed total of 170 people.
In dealing with the largest outbreak within the United States since at least World War II, the DOH has provided regular daily updates about the number of cases identified within state labs for the past several weeks. Most recently, the updates began showing how many individuals in the count remain infectious.
Currently, only three of the total confirmed cases still potentially could pass the virus to mosquitoes if they are bitten, according to Tuesday’s update.
“HDOH continues to routinely monitor for cases of imported dengue infection on ALL islands and will continue to have Vector Control perform mosquito site assessments and abatement as needed,” reads the update. “Since the beginning of our current investigation on Hawaii Island, two imported dengue fever cases have been confirmed (one on Oahu and one on Hawaii), and one imported chikungunya case (on Hawaii) has been confirmed. These cases are not associated with the Hawaii Island investigation.”