Current Trends Imported Dengue Fever -- United States, 1984
In 1984, 67 cases of dengue-like illness were reported to CDC
from
30 states. Adequate blood samples were received on 44 cases. Of
these, six (14%) were confirmed as dengue infection. The remaining
38
(86%) were negative for dengue antibody. Illness associated with
confirmed imported dengue was relatively mild and of the classical
type. No severe hemorrhagic disease was associated with any of the
cases.
The six confirmed cases were reported from six states (Figure
1).
Serologic evidence in two cases suggested dengue type 1 and 3
infections. By contrast, in 1983, antibody to all four dengue
serotypes were detected. Dengue virus was not isolated from any of
the cases imported into the United States in 1984.
Only one case of confirmed dengue was imported into a state
(Tennessee) where Aedes aegypti may be found at least part of the
year
(Figure 1). The other five cases were imported into California,
Missouri, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin. No indigenous
transmission of dengue was reported in the continental United
States
in 1984.
Travel histories of persons with confirmed dengue showed that
infection was imported from Caribbean basin countries (Mexico and
Haiti) and from Asia (India, Thailand, and the Philippines).
Reported by Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory, California
Dept
of Health Svcs; Div of Health, Section of Laboratory Svcs, Missouri
Dept of Social Svc; Dept of General Svcs, Bureau of Microbiological
Science, Richmond, Virginia; State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison,
Wisconsin; Center for Laboratories and Research, New York State
Dept
of Health; Div of Laboratories, Tennessee Dept of Public Health;
Dengue Br, Div of Vector-Borne Viral Diseases, Center for
Infectious
Diseases, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: The number of suspected dengue cases imported into
the United States in 1984 was the lowest in several years and
reflects
the decreased epidemic dengue activity in most tropical areas of
the
world during that year, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands, where only six and three dengue cases were confirmed,
respectively. However, the amount of dengue is cyclic, and
increased
activity is expected to occur in the next year or so, at which time
more imported cases may be anticipated in the United States. Many
of
the southern Gulf states of the United States are still infested
with
aegypti mosquitoes, the principal vector of epidemic dengue.
The
repeated introduction of dengue viruses poses a constant potential
for
dengue transmission in those states.
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