Virginia reports first locally acquired dengue case

Investing.com -- Virginia health officials announced Tuesday the state's first dengue case in a patient with no recent travel history outside Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Health said the patient was likely infected by a local mosquito that had previously bitten a person who contracted dengue while traveling abroad. Officials said the risk to the public remains low.

The case follows recent locally acquired dengue infections in Florida's Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties, indicating the virus is spreading beyond its traditional tropical locations into cooler climates.

James Earnest, an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida who researches immune responses to dengue, said mosquitoes that carry these viruses are being transported into the US through travel, airplanes and ships. The US climate has become more suitable for their survival, he added.

Southern Florida, Texas, Louisiana and southern California face the highest risk for continued dengue spread as warmer winters allow mosquitoes to survive, Earnest said.

Dengue is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that spread Zika and chikungunya. The disease can cause fever, body aches, eye pain, nausea and rash, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has identified more than 1,400 total dengue cases in the US this year, with nearly all linked to travel.

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