A second case of rare, locally acquired dengue has been confirmed by California health officials in Long Beach. The report comes just over a week after a first was reported in Pasadena.
At this time, risk to the overall public remains low, according to a Nov. 1 news release from the City of Long Beach.
"The person who was infected has recovered at home and no other suspected cases have been identified," the release states. "The Health Department is carefully monitoring the situation and has educated healthcare providers on the symptoms of dengue."
The mosquito-borne illness is carried by Aedes aegypti species, which traditionally has resided in warm, tropical climates in places like Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Pacific Islands, Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Central and South America and Southeast Asia. As such, travel-acquired dengue infections are much more common.
But environmental factors continue to warm temperatures making habitats more friendly to the mosquitos in parts of the United States, where it could in time, become endemic, according to experts.
"We are taking many steps to prevent mosquito-borne infections in Long Beach," Anissa Davis, MD, health officer for the City of Long Beach said in the release. "Outreach teams are visiting the neighborhood where dengue was identified to provide information on mosquito bite prevention and ways to control mosquito breeding around the home. Health Department staff continue to trap and test mosquitoes in nearby areas to look for infected mosquitoes and are intensifying efforts to reduce breeding and control mosquito populations."
The Long Beach Health Department noted it will ramp up efforts to trap and test mosquitoes to identify any other insects carrying the disease to reduce further breeding.