Hawaii Hit With Dengue Fever Outbreak
Federal health officials are investigating an outbreak of dengue fever in Hawaii after more than 100 people have become infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned travelers to protect themselves from mosquito bites that could lead to the potentially deadly disease. There have been 117 confirmed cases of dengue fever in Hawaii since September, according to the state health department. Twenty-nine of those infected are children, officials said. It's the first cluster of locally-acquired dengue fever on the Big Island since the 2011 outbreak on Oahu, according to Hawaii health officials. Symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, severe headache, joint pain, rashes and mild bleeding, the CDC said. There are more than 100 million annual cases of dengue fever worldwide, health officials said.