Officials are warning of dengue cases reaching an all-time high and being spread through infected mosquito bites.
A total of 142 cases have been reported in New York — 12 from Suffolk, and up to four from Nassau.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases with Stony Brook Medicine, told News 12, “All the cases in New York state are all from travelers and that tells us you want to travel. This winter, be careful where you go, the mosquitoes that transmit dengue feed at night and dawn, so If you’re going outside, think about mosquito repellent.
“The good news is that our mosquitoes don’t carry any dengue disease. There are no dengue mosquitoes in New York,” Nachman said.
But Nachman said there are dengue-carrying mosquitoes outside of New York.
“If you’re going to get your mosquito bite in Florida, I worry about dengue, so it all depends on where you’re traveling and what those mosquitoes are carrying.” said Nachman.
The most common symptoms are fever, nausea, and rash, but some experience severe dengue, which can lead to shock, internal bleeding, and occasionally death.
There is no specific medicine to treat it, most people recover after a week.
Dr. Nachman shares this advice for those traveling this summer:
“I’m not telling them to cancel their trip or not take their kids. I’m saying, let’s think about where you’re going to be. Are you using DEET on your skin or on your child’s clothes? Are you out? How can you protect yourself at dusk and dawn?”
In a statement issued by the Suffolk County Health Services Department, “Dengue is a disease caused by the dengue virus, which is caused by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquito.” Travelers to the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean can wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, stay in air-conditioned areas, and use Suffolk County disinfectants. Issuing travel warnings on social media The only dengue case reported in Suffolk County in 2024 has been traced to travel so far.