Dengue fever back in the Southeast US?
 

Talking with my mom earlier today about an upcoming trip to Key West, she warned me to watch out for mosquitoes there as they carry Dengue fever.

I laughed it off after the fact, chalking it up to her customary mother-trained-as-registered-nurse concerns, but then I saw this:

NY Times: Dengue Fever? What About It, Key West Says

Grounds for legitimate concern, or trumped up reports meant to stir up fear? Regardless, maybe we'll bring along some OFF after all.

Hearing accounts of a friend who has had dengue fever, I'm not even willing to take a chance. I'd rather be overly cautious than go through something as horrible as what was described to me.

I've been listening to this one adspot for the past 3+ years that speaks about Dengue fever, and it was sort of offputting to hear it constantly played as though this is a serious medical issue in the Mid-Atlantic and/or Midwest regions (chalk this up to "N. America as a whole does not have to worry about such a far-and-away rare disease").

I know what the affliction is, and how it can render one nearly immobile for months on end, with blistering fevers on-and-off. If I'm correct, it's called the "bone-break" disease, or some other layman's derivative, for that's how it affects your body: it makes you feel as though your inner bones are actually throbbing in pain.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lesser strain of Dengue were to be found in the Florida isles, as this wouldn't be the first time it's occurred; and the disease is most often found near the Equator, on islands such as Tahiti, the Philippines Haiti, as well as in spots in Africa and India . But an "outbreak", or any real cause for concern about it, as a once-native Floridian myself, I wouldn't give it another thought honestly. Actually, I've always had what is known as sweet blood, and I get attacked by mosquitoes and various flies mercilessly, and this illness is most easily communicable via infected insects, so... there's my second-thought cause of doubt.

There is dengue throughout the tropics. The Keys are very nearly tropical although I am not sure if this is technically true and I am too lazy to look it up. There have been rare cases in Hawaii even though it is the most geographically isolated archipelligo on earth. Most cases are relatively mild and are probably passed off as a "viral syndrome." However severe cases do occur. The fact that there have been 27 cases a year would not keep me from Key West, or anywhere else for that matter. It would make me use DEET while I was there.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Plus, if your trip is in the next few months, you have missed the bug season.

It was a light season this year for mosquitoes overall, now that I think about it. I can't remember getting a single bite all year.

(I am in SW Florida about 3 hrs from Key West, for reference)