Health officials confirmed dengue virus in a California resident with no history of international travel, marking an "extremely rare case of local transmission" in the U.S., the Pasadena Public Health Department said Oct. 20.
The infection also marks the first confirmed case in California not associated with travel. Health officials said the risk for residents is very low.
The health department is testing mosquitos in Pasadena, Calif., for the virus. As of Oct. 20, no dengue-infected mosquitoes have been identified.
Health officials suspect the infected individual likely contracted the virus from a mosquito that had bitten someone who already had dengue, according to the Los Angeles Times. Additional details about the infected individual, who is now recovering, were not disclosed.
The case comes as expertswarn clinicians about a potential uptick in dengue virus in the South as climate change increases regional temperatures, making the environment more hospitable for the infection-causing mosquitoes. Experts also recently warned about the potential resurgence of yellow fever — another mosquito-transmitted virus — in the South.