A dengue fever alert has been issued in the Florida Keys following two locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne illness. There have been a total of 2,241 dengue cases reported in the U.S. so far this year, with the majority being travel-related. However, the incidence of dengue fever internationally has been the highest on record, with Latin American countries reporting over 9.7 million cases in 2023. Dengue infections are on the rise due to increasingly hot temperatures, which create ideal conditions for mosquitoes to hatch and carry higher amounts of the virus.
About one in four people infected with the dengue virus will get sick, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. The most common symptom is fever, along with joint, muscle, bone, or eye pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, or rash. Most patients recover within a week, but about 1 in 20 cases can develop severe dengue, which can be life-threatening and require hospitalization.
Prevention methods include staying in air-conditioned places when possible, using insect repellent when outdoors, wearing long sleeves and pants to avoid mosquito bites, and cleaning up areas with stagnant water where mosquitoes could breed. Those who have had dengue in the past are more likely to develop severe symptoms, as a person can get sick with dengue fever up to four times in their lifetime due to the different types of viruses that can cause the disease.
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