Two cases of dengue fever were found in the Florida Keys just two weeks after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national advisory about the increased risk of dengue virus infections in the United States.
Dengue can present as a flu-like illness with symptoms of severe muscle aches and joint pain, fever, and sometimes a rash, according to the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County.
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"Symptoms will appear within 14 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito," health officials said. "Dengue fever is not contagious but is transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito."
The two cases that sparked the notice in the Florida Keys were locally acquired, despite the fact that the majority of dengue cases reported in the United States this year have been linked to travel, according to representatives of the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County.
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According to the CDC, in just 2024 alone, there have been 2,241 cases of dengue fever.
Numerous countries have observed rising temperatures, which provide the perfect environment for the mosquitoes that spread dengue to hatch in large numbers and carry greater amounts of the virus. As a result, dengue infections are on the rise.
According to the most recent CDC advisory, medical professionals should consider dengue more seriously in patients who have a fever, particularly if they have recently traveled to regions where dengue transmission is common in order to prevent any further cases.
