A Tropical Virus Usually Linked To Travel Just Changed The Rules

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced on Tuesday afternoon that it is investigating a confirmed case of the dengue virus that was locally transmitted.

A resident in Northern Virginia who “did not have known travel outside of Virginia” before presenting symptoms of the illness has tested positive for the virus, as reported by WSLS 10 News. The VDH, as well as the Fairfax County and Loudoun County Health Departments, are investigating the first documented dengue case originating in Virginia.

“The patient is known to have been in close proximity to a recent internationally acquired case in a Virginian who was diagnosed a couple weeks prior,” the VDH wrote in a statement.

“Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bites of infected Aedes species mosquitoes. Transmission of the virus likely occurred when a local mosquito bit the internationally acquired case while infectious and subsequently infected the second case.”

At the time of publication, the commonwealth’s health department and authorities had not provided any additional information about the severity of the patient’s symptoms or where in Northern Virginia the patient lives.

Cases of dengue fever can range from mild or even asymptomatic to severe disease. Mild symptoms include headaches, nausea and vomiting, and rashes on the skin. One in every 20 infected people develops severe dengue fever, which can potentially result in shock, internal bleeding, and even death.

According to the CDC, dengue is usually spread through the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes and does not spread through casual contact between people. Rarely, it can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her fetus, or through blood transfusions, organ transplants, and needlestick injuries.

The VDH explained that there is no evidence that the virus is still spreading and no additional reports of dengue fever in the state: “The potential risk for acquiring dengue virus in Virginia remains low.”

The Virginia case follows two locally acquired dengue cases confirmed in Florida on Monday — one in Miami-Dade County and one in Palm Beach County — which prompted the Florida Department of Health offices in both counties to issue mosquito-borne illness alerts. They are the second and third locally acquired cases reported in Florida this year, following one in Hillsborough County in July.