Dengue fever has broken out on the tropical islands in the south of the US state of Florida for the first time in ten years. Sixteen people on the Florida Keys had already been infected with the mosquito-borne virus, the Florida Department of Health said on Friday. The infections occurred mainly in the north of the island chain.
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The last outbreak of dengue occurred on the Keys 2010. At that time, 55 people were infected with the virus, reports the “Miami Herald”. Dengue fever is transmitted by the female yellow fever mosquito (Aedes Aegypti, also called Egyptian tiger mosquito).
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It is estimated that around 400 million people worldwide are infected with the dengue virus every year, only about 25 percent of them develop symptoms. The disease is severe in a small number of sufferers, which can lead to abdominal pain, bleeding mucous membranes or persistent vomiting.
The risk of a severe course of the disease increases with a second infection. According to the Robert Koch Institute About 0.5 to two percent of people develop a severe form of dengue when they become infected for the second time.
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Good mosquito prophylaxis is the only sure protection against infection. Vaccination has existed for a few years. However, this does not create 100 percent protection. The remedy should also according to the Robert Koch Institute can only be used in people who have been ill. Otherwise, the risk of a more severe course of the disease could even increase.
In Germany, doctors diagnose between 600 and 800 infections a year in people who have returned from a trip. There are also isolated cases in which the virus was transmitted within Europe, for example in France.
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