Two cases of mosquito-borne illness dengue fever confirmed in Broward County

Health officials have issued a mosquito-borne illness alert for Broward County after confirming two cases of dengue fever, a virus spread through mosquito bites.

The virus is transmitted to people through bites from Aedes genus mosquitoes, which also spread Zika and the chikungunya viruses, the Broward Health Department said in a news release Friday evening.

Symptoms of dengue virus include fever and one or more of the following: headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle, joint or bone pain, rash, nausea and vomiting or unusual bleeding or bruising.

Typically, people who have been infected with dengue fever have mild or no symptoms. People who do get symptoms usually recover after a week, the department said.

Officials are reminding people to drain any standing water to abate mosquito reproduction and to wear protective clothes and bug sprays.

Cases of dengue fever have cropped up in South Florida areas before, and Miami-Dade County health officials reported in late August at least five confirmed cases.

In late September, the Palm Beach County Health Department said in an alert that there had been an increase in mosquito-borne illnesses in Pahokee, Belle Glade, West Delray and West Boca. Officials said multiple chickens tested positive for Flavivirus infections, which is a family of viruses that includes dengue fever and Zika virus, according to the CDC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly half of the planet’s population lives in an area where contracting dengue fever is a risk, and hundreds of millions of people are infected with it every year. A significantly small percentage, .01%, of them die.

“Mosquitoes become infected when they bite a person infected with the virus,” according to the CDC. “Infected mosquitoes can then spread the virus to other people through

bites.”

Here’s what the Broward Health Department officials advise people to do:

„ Drain any rain or sprinkler water that is collected in garbage cans, gutters, buckets, pool covers, coolers, toys, flower pots or any other container.

Throw away old tires, drums, bottles, cans, pots and pans and other broken appliances that aren’t being used.

„ Fix any broken screens on windows, porches, doors or patios.

„ Empty and clean birdbaths and pet water bowls at least once a week.

„ Use rain tarps that don’t collect water on boats and cars.

„ Keep swimming pools in good condition and chlorinated, and drain plastic swimming pools when not in use.

„ Wear shoes, socks, long pants and long sleeves, especially for people working in areas where mosquitoes are present.

„ Spray mosquito repellant on bare skin and clothes.

„ Use mosquito netting for babies younger than 2 months.