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apnews.com

Florida’s current dengue outbreak appears to be the largest in several decades in the continental United States.

State health officials reported this week that more than 250 locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been tallied so far this year. The vast majority of them were in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa.

Federal health officials say their data on dengue outbreaks is limited. But available information from state health departments and medical journals suggests the Florida outbreak marks the most cases in a calendar year for any state since at least the 1940s.

  • aramis87@fedia.io
    42·
    2 days ago

    Well, we knew we’d get dengue outbreaks one climate change got rolling, it’s a shame they cut so many prevention efforts as well as public health departments. Next up, chikungunya.

    • 𝕽𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑 𝕽𝖊𝖇𝖊𝖑@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      26·
      2 days ago

      The dengue virus is one of the gnarliest viruses on the planet. The first infection is nothing compared to the second. If there are antibodies from the first when a second infection occurs, they allow the new virus to infect certain immune cells with ease. These immune cells act as both a shield and transport for the virus. This leads to an enormous increase in viral replication and allows the virus to spread throughout the body. Put another way, if you get dengue fever, you absolutely need to avoid any area where mosquitoes are present until your body can breakdown the antibodies made to fight the initial infection. If you don’t, it more than doubles the risk of getting severe dengue fever, which tends to be quite bleak.