Mosquito-borne ‘breakbone’ virus detected in DC suburbs: First ever case of locally-transmitted Dengue fever confirmed in Virginia

The first-ever case of a deadly mosquito-borne virus spreading locally in Virginia has been detected in a resident living in the suburbs of Washington DC.

The patient was in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, west of the city, and diagnosed with dengue fever, a disease that can cause life-threatening internal bleeding and a deep pain in bones that patients say feels like they are being broken.

The patient had not recently left Virginia but had been in close contact with another resident who had traveled internationally and was diagnosed with the same virus several weeks earlier.

Health officials believe a local mosquito bit the infected traveler and then the new patient, spreading the virus locally. Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquito bites, and not directly from human to human.

It came less than a week after the first case of locally-acquired dengue fever was recorded for this year in an individual in Florida.

Health officials say there is no evidence that the virus is spreading in Virginia and that no additional locally transmitted dengue cases have been reported. 

The risk of contracting the illness in the state remains low.

Dengue fever was nearly eradicated in the US in the 1970s amid a campaign to wipe out the Aedes aegypti mosquito, identified by the white bands on its legs, which carries the virus.

After that campaign was abandoned, however, the mosquito – and dengue fever – have repeatedly triggered sporadic outbreaks, particularly in Florida, Texas and California.

Announcing the new case, health officials in Virginia said: ‘There is no evidence of continued transmission and no additional reports of locally acquired dengue cases at this time.

‘The potential risk for acquiring dengue virus in Virginia remains low.’

No further details on the patient were available. 

Virginia is now the ninth state in the US to report local transmission of dengue fever since 2010, data from the CDC shows. 

Overall, since that year, more than 600 cases of dengue spreading locally in the US have been recorded. 

Florida has recorded the most – more than 600 cases – followed by Hawaii with 250, Texas with 47 and California with 27.

Four cases have also been recorded in Arizona, two in North Carolina and one each in West Virginia and New York.

Dengue is spread through the bites of infected Aedes species mosquitoes. 

Symptoms include fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint aches, nausea, vomiting and a rash, usually appearing five to seven days after a mosquito bite.

Most people recover within a week, but some develop severe dengue, which can cause shock, internal bleeding and even death if not treated promptly. 

The new cases comes as the CDC has updated its travel alert for the virus after detecting unusual upticks in cases across the world.

In particular, the agency warned travelers heading to 11 countries and territories to take precautions, highlighting a rise in cases in these areas.

The CDC said it had identified a ‘higher-than-expected number of dengue cases among US travelers returning from’ Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Kenya, Malaysia , Maldives, New Caledonia, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Tonga and Vietnam.

Health officials urged travelers to wear insect repellent, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, and to sleep in air-conditioned rooms or a room with window screens.

They warned that children under five, adults over 65 and pregnant women were considered to be at higher risk from the virus.

Most cases of dengue fever recorded in the US are linked to international travel.