Dengue update: HDOH continues to investigate an outbreak of locally-acquired cases of dengue fever on the Big Island of Hawaii.
As of Tuesday, February 23, 2016, there have been zero (0) confirmed cases added since the last update on Monday (2/22/16). The total number of confirmed cases remains at 259. Also, there were no new confirmed cases on Monday.
Currently, there is one (1) confirmed case that is potentially infectious to mosquitoes (onset of disease 2/13/2016), while the remaining 258 are no longer infectious (onset from 9/11/15 to 2/9/16).
***IMPORTANT: Still-infectious mosquitoes may remain in the area, so even if the number of potentially infectious people drops to a few cases or zero, there is still a risk of dengue infection because the dengue virus is passed from mosquito to human, not human to human.“Fight the bite” preventive measures remain crucial THROUGHOUT THE BIG ISLAND even if there are only a few confirmed cases that are still infectious to mosquitoes.***
Of the confirmed cases, 234 have been Hawaii Island residents and 25 have been visitors. 213 cases have been adults; 46 have been children (<18 years of age).
The number of reported potential cases that were *excluded* based on test results and/or not meeting case criteria rose from 1287 to 1298.