Nearly 250 people have been infected with dengue fever, a virus spread by mosquitoes, in three northeast U.S. states, according to data provided by federal health officials.
About 50 dengue cases have been reported in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont in all so far in 2024. All of the cases in the aforementioned states occurred in individuals who were traveling, according to the CDC. Other than nine cases in Florida, there haven’t been any locally transmitted cases anywhere else in the United States so far in 2024.
Puerto Rico has reported over 1,700 dengue cases this year, CDC data show. Dengue fever transmission generally occurs in subtropical and tropical areas worldwide, health officials say. The Epoch Times contacted the CDC for comment Thursday.
Last month, the CDC issued a health alert for doctors to be on alert for dengue fever cases as the disease continues to spread worldwide. The virus has been on the rise worldwide and in the Americas in recent months, officials said, adding that some countries have broken calendar-year records for dengue cases. Brazil’s Ministry of Health, namely, has reported more than 5 million cases of dengue as of May.
Health officials say that some people can experience no signs or symptoms of a dengue infection. But when symptoms do occur, they can be mistaken for another illness such as influenza. Symptoms usually start between four and 10 days after being bitten by a dengue-infected mosquito, a.
