BALDWIN PARK — Two more locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne illness dengue have been confirmed in Los Angeles County, including the seventh such case in a cluster being investigated in Baldwin Park. In addition to the new Baldwin Park case, another was confirmed in a resident of the Hollywood Hills.
A total of 11 locally acquired cases of dengue have been confirmed in the county. Other cases have been detected in Panorama City and El Monte.
Health officials again stressed that locally acquired cases of dengue are extremely rare in areas where it has not been previously transmitted by mosquitoes.
“These two additional cases raise concerns about the potential for continued local spread of dengue in our community. Healthcare providers play a critical role in promptly identifying and managing patients infected with dengue,” Dr. Muntu Davis, Los Angeles County’s health officer, said in a statement. “Providers should consider dengue in any patient with fever and signs and symptoms of dengue including headache, eye pain, muscle, bone or joint pain, nausea and vomiting and order testing for dengue regardless of travel history.”
None of the local patients had any history of travel to areas where dengue is endemic.
In October and November of last year, single locally acquired cases of dengue were confirmed by health officials in Pasadena and Long Beach.
Health officials urged residents to use insect repellent, remove standing water that can attract mosquitoes and install or repair window screens to prevent mosquitoes from entering.
Dengue is generally spread by a bite from an infected Aedes mosquito. Most patients never exhibit any symptoms, but 1 in 4 will develop signs including fever, nausea, vomiting, rash and aching eyes, joints or bones.
The symptoms generally last no more than a week, and people usually fully recover within two weeks.
Deaths from the virus are extremely rare, health officials said.
Health officials noted that the symptoms of dengue often mirror those of other viruses, and they urged health-care providers to be “vigilant for dengue fever in patients with acute febrile illness and test for and report such cases of mosquito-borne diseases.”