Florida health officials issue warning as dengue fever cases rise 

Dengue cases have been on the rise in South Florida, prompting officials to issue several alerts in parts of the state. 

Two local cases of dengue fever were recently found for the first time in Broward County, bringing the total number of locally acquired cases this year in the state to ten, according to a new surveillance report by the Florida Department of Health. 

Additionally, four cases or locally acquired cases of dengue have been confirmed in Miami-Dade County. 

No information is known about any of the patients infected with dengue, including their names, gender, age, and country of origin. 

Dengue is a disease spread through mosquito bites. About 1 in 4 people bitten by mosquitoes carrying the illness get infected. Individuals who contract dengue present muscle or joint pain, eye pain, nausea, vomiting, or rash. Usually, people recover within one week. 

However, people can present severe complications, such as nose or gum bleeding, vomiting blood, blood in the stool, and belly pain. Around 1 in every 20 people infected should seek hospital care. 

People can be infected with dengue multiple times throughout their lifetimes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About half of the world’s population lives in areas that are prone to dengue fever, according to the CDC. The mosquito-borne disease is common in touristy places such as the Caribbean, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands.  

Usually, people in the United States contract the disease after traveling abroad to countries where the illness is widespread. However, infected travelers could bring back the disease and then get bitten by local mosquitos, causing dengue to spread.

"Dengue is spread by the bite of an Infected mosquito and is not normally present in Florida. However, infected travelers can bring the virus back to Florida mosquitoes," Florida Health Broward County wrote in a statement.

Around 200 dengue cases have been reported in the country so far this year, all of which have been travel-related, according to the CDC.

The warning comes after health officials issued a health alert after four cases of malaria were acquired locally in Florida, marking the first time that the mosquito-borne disease has been found in the country in 20 years.