As of November 25, 2015 there have about several confirmed cases of which 88 are Hawaii residents and 13 are visitors. Of which 78 cases are of adults and; 23 are of children below 18 years old, according to Hawaii's Department of Health.
The Hawaii Department of Health has a map of potential areas of infection which you can check out on this link HERE**. (Updated November 25, 2015)
According to a statement that they released:
HDOH will continue to routinely monitor for all cases of dengue imported or local on ALL islands and will continue to have Vector Control, perform mosquito site assessments and abatement as needed.
The HDOH also has provided online brochures for several different languages namely Spanish, Samoan, Marshallese, Japanese, Ilokano, Hawaiiian, English, Chuukese, Tongan, Tagalog. The brochures are available and you can check it out at this link, Click here.
So what is dengue?
The Dengue Virus(DENV) ,which causes dengue fever, is mosquito-borne single positive stranded RNA virus, and five serotypes of the virus have been discovered. All of which can cause full spectrum of the disease.
How can you get it?
Even though you got sick with dengue, you can get it again since it has five serotypes and there is no current human vaccine available. Both private and public researchers are on the race to develop a complete vaccine. Since any of the four can be the causative agent. The vaccine must be complete and able to immunize against all four types to be effective. Vaccination against only one serotype could possibly lead to severe dengue hemorrhagic shock (DHS) when infected with another serotype due to antibody-dependent enhancement. The viruses that cause dengue fever can be transmitte by mosquitoes. The What type of mosquitoes are the vectors? Aedes aegypti mosquito, Aedes albopictus mosquito are two types of mosquitoes that are vectors.
What should you do if you have dengue?
No specific treatment for dengue fever is available as of today. Your doctor may recommend that you take in lots of fluids to avoid dehydration from vomiting and high fever. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can alleviate pain and reduce fever however you should avoid pain relievers that can increase bleeding complications like as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc.) and naproxen sodium (Aleve, and the like ).
If you have severe dengue fever, you may need these: supportive care in a hospital, Intravenous (IV) fluid and electrolyte replacement, blood pressure monitoring, or transfusion to replace blood loss.
How do you prevent it?
By using mosquito repellents application on your clothing and skin and reduction of mosquito habitat. The mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus typically live in and around houses, breeding in standing water that can collect in such things as used automobile tires. Reduce the breeding habitat to lower mosquito populations.
