Nearly 200 people in New York and New Jersey have been sickened with dengue fever amid a rise in cases across the Americas, prompting a warning from the Centers for Disease Control.
At least 143 New York residents and 41 people in the Garden State have been infected with the virus as of July 2, according to the CDC’s most recent data — with New York, Kings, Queens, Suffolk and Westchester counties reporting the most cases.
Everyone who has reported contracting the virus had recently traveled, according to the CDC, though the agency did not specify where. It also noted that there’s so far no evidence to suggest there has been any person-to-person transmission within the states.
Florida is the only continental state to have reported local transmission, with seven cases, the CDC said. Most infections were reported in the Miami-area.
Cases of dengue are at an all-time high across North, Central and South America, the CDC warned. It’s transmitted to humans by way of a bite from infected Aedes mosquitoes, the same species responsible for the spread of Zika and yellow fever as well as other viruses.
So far this year, more than 9.7 million people have been infected, which is double the amount of people diagnosed with the virus in 2023. Last year, there were 4.6 million cases and 4,000 deaths were reported in the same regions.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, dengue symptoms include a sudden high fever, headaches, pain behind the eyes, swollen glands, nausea and vomiting, as well as joint and muscle pain. Some sufferers also break out in a rash a few days after the fever starts.
