Hawaii's Big Island announced a state of emergency on Monday after more than 200 cases of dengue fever were recorded in the region over the past four months, the largest outbreak since the 1940s.
Just like the Zika virus, dengue fever is an illness carried and spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. These mosquitoes often live and thrive on tires and containers with little water. Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi's declaration suspends the county law that prohibits people from disposing of tires at county landfills.
As of Feb. 9, Hawaii's Health Department has confirmed 252 cases of dengue on the Big Island. Of the number, 228 are infected Hawaii Island residents while 24 are visitors.
Kenoi's announcement paved the way for Hawaii Gov. David Ige to make his own emergency declaration. It would provide the state funds for mosquito-control measures.
Ige said he supported Hawaii Island's efforts to break the cycle of dengue fever transmission and infection. He said the state would declare an emergency if the dengue fever outbreak needs extra resources, spreads to other Hawaii islands or expands to include Zika or other mosquito-borne disease.
The state is expecting to release 5 percent of the Health Department's budget restriction, which is equivalent to $250,000. This will fund eight mosquito-control positions, one communications position, and one entomologist.
Hawaii recently released another 5 percent restriction so the Health Department could support costs incurred during the onset of the outbreak.
Kenoi and the team on the Big Island have been working on controlling dengue-carrying mosquitoes by engaging the communities, said Ige.
"We've been cooperating with them from the beginning, providing the resources that they need to ensure that we can respond on behalf of the people," said Ige.
The symptoms for dengue include severe headaches, sudden fever, pain in the joints, eye, and muscles, and rash. The fever is typically gone after seven or 14 days.
Hawaii is susceptible to the outbreak not because the fever is endemic to the island, but because it has mosquitoes that can carry and transmit the disease. The state's tropical environment allows dengue-carrying mosquitoes to survive.
Photo : U.S. Department of Agriculture | Flickr
