# 4813
For the second week in a row, the CDC’s surveillance numbers on new Dengue infections in Puerto Rico have dropped, although they are still running about 4 times above the epidemic threshold.
Still, after months of steadily rising numbers, we’ll take any good news we can get.
The 22 fatalities and 12,540 cases exceeds the totals from the 1998 epidemic on the island, and the height of the Dengue season on the island (normally September through November) still lies ahead.
Of the 4 serotypes of Dengue, only DENV-3 has not been reported in 2010. DENV-1 is the most prevalent strain, followed by DENV-4.
In July the CDC’s MMWR came out with a field report on the Dengue situation in Puerto Rico, which you can read about at MMWR: Dengue Epidemic In Puerto Rico.
The CDC also issued a Health Advisory via their HAN (Health Alert Network) primarily to inform health care providers of the possibility of seeing Dengue Fever in returning visitors from areas where the virus is being seen.
This is an official
CDC HEALTH ADVISORYDistributed via Health Alert Network
Sunday, July 25, 2010, 22:35 EDT (10:35 PM EDT)
CDCHAN-00315-2010-07-25-ADV-N
When placed into perspective – there are about 4 million residents and another 4 million annual visitors to Puerto Rico – 12,000 infections is a very small percentage of that total.
The odds of contracting the virus are actually pretty low. But they are not zero.
So it makes sense to take reasonable precautions whenever you are around mosquitoes (and not just in Puerto Rico).
Some other recent blogs on Dengue and mosquito borne diseases include:
Dengue: Puerto Rico & Beyond - Week 33
Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)
ASTMH: Dengue and Insect-Borne EIDs In The US
Update On The Florida Dengue Cases
