New Dengue Fever Cases Cited in Maui

By Associated Press

September 28, 2001, 4:29 AM EDT

HONOLULU -- Fourteen new dengue fever cases have been confirmed by federal health officials in Hawaii's first outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in more than 50 years.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that four people had contracted dengue fever, which is rarely fatal. All four have since recovered.

The 18 cases so far have been confined to the remote Hana and Nahiku areas of East Maui, said Dr. David Sasaki of the state Department of Health.

More cases are suspected and awaiting confirmation by the CDC, he said.

Dengue fever causes severe headaches, fever and rashes. The more serious dengue hemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of 5 percent, according to the CDC. There is no vaccine or specific treatment.

Dengue fever had been reported previously in Hawaii, but by people who had contracted the disease elsewhere. None of the newly confirmed cases involved people who had recently traveled away from Maui, Sasaki said.

Bruce Stoner of Nahiku, said he, his wife and two children are among those believed to have contracted dengue fever.

"In dengue, you're not going to die, but you feel like it wouldn't be so bad," Stoner told the Maui News. "It's like a very unpleasant flu, and the headache is very excruciating."

State health officials say the best way to fight the disease is to eradicate the mosquitoes that carry it. They have sprayed areas where dengue fever has occurred, and encouraged residents to eliminate standing water, which acts as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

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On the Net:

CDC Dengue Fever page: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/dengue/index.htm

Hawaii Department of Health: http://www.state.hi.us/health/ Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2001