Important info if you get sick during/after a trip to Key West:
More than two dozen cases of locally-acquired dengue fever have hit the resort town of Key West, Fla., in the past nine months, officials from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Although not the first cases of home-grown dengue in the U.S., or even in Florida, the outbreak highlights the need for physician vigilance regarding this and other formerly exotic tropical diseases, the CDC said in the May 21 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report....
...The first case was actually identified in Rochester, N.Y., involving a 34-year-old woman who had just returned from a week-long visit to Key West.
The day after arriving back in Rochester, she went to her doctor complaining of fever, headache, malaise, and chills. Lab analysis showed bacteria and blood in her urine...
...As a result, several other recent cases of febrile illness with other symptoms such as headache, myalgia, chills, and vomiting, were discovered to be dengue.
Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever is an acute febrile disease which occurs in the tropics and can be life-threatening. . . Dengue is transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti or more rarely the Aedes albopictus mosquito, both of which feed exclusively during daylight hours. . . The disease manifests as a sudden onset of severe headache, muscle and joint pains (myalgias and arthralgias—severe pain that gives it the nickname break-bone fever or bonecrusher disease), fever, and rash. . . The dengue rash is characteristically bright red petechiae and usually appears first on the lower limbs and the chest; in some patients, it spreads to cover most of the body. There may also be gastritis with some combination of associated abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Some cases develop much milder symptoms which can be misdiagnosed as influenza or other viral infection when no rash is present. Thus travelers from tropical areas may pass on dengue inadvertently, having not been properly diagnosed at the height of their illness. Patients with dengue can pass on the infection only through mosquitoes or blood products and only while they are still febrile. The classic dengue fever lasts about two to seven days.
ScarletB wrote:Wow, does this mean I need to bring my 'skeeter repellant from St Barts to MOTM???
Consumer Reports found six repellents protected against deer ticks and two common types of mosquitoes. Here are the six recommended sprays and what's in them:
Off Deep Woods Sportsmen II -- 30 percent DEET
Cutter Backwoods Unscented -- 23 percent DEET
Off FamilyCare Smooth & Dry -- 15 percent DEET
3M Ultrathon Insect Repellent 8 -- 25 percent DEET
Repel Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus -- oil of lemon eucalyptus
Natrapel 8 hour with Picaridin -- 20 percent Picaridin
On a scale of 100, the first four scored 98. Repel scored 97 and Natrapel, 87. Except for Natrapel, each was effective for 8 or more hours. Natrapel, also the most expensive at $2 per ounce, kept mosquitoes away for 7 hours.
Repel's active ingredient is oil of lemon eucalyptus, which is not recommended for children under 3. Natrapel contains a chemical called Picaridin, which is newer than DEET.
The other four sprays didn't fare as well and were not recommended. They are Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard (73), Bite Block Xtreme (56), Cutter Skinsations (55) and Burt's Bees (24).
While the bugs used by the Consumer Reports testers were free of disease, wild mosquitoes can carry West Nile virus or St. Louis encephalitis.
Outside the U.S., those skeeters might carry malaria, yellow fever, or dengue fever.
Ticks, on the other hand, can spread Lyme disease, human babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
I got bit up big time in St Kitts. Most of the restaurants were ourdoors on the beach. I had tons of bites even using deet. Luckily we've been home for a couple of weks and I didn't get dengue fever or malaria.
Yeah, I heard about this a few weeks ago as I decided to change my vacation plans from the Alabama Gulf Coast and head back to Key West. I guess the part that bothers me the most is the skeeters feed during the day. Something normally not in their M.O., especially with the pounding sun.
I guess a few OFF! wipes in the daypack will save me from a possible crappier than normal post-vacation depression.
Oil in the gulf, nasty mosquitoes on the island, daughter getting ready to leave for her freshman year in college....not a good summer.
"I knew I could use a Bloody Mary, so I stumbled over to Louie's Backyard."
GulfCoastPirate wrote:Yeah, I heard about this a few weeks ago as I decided to change my vacation plans from the Alabama Gulf Coast and head back to Key West. I guess the part that bothers me the most is the skeeters feed during the day. Something normally not in their M.O., especially with the pounding sun.
I guess a few OFF! wipes in the daypack will save me from a possible crappier than normal post-vacation depression.
Oil in the gulf, nasty mosquitoes on the island, daughter getting ready to leave for her freshman year in college....not a good summer.
where she'll be meeting new people, and you can anticipate the "Mom, Dad? I met a boy. His name is 'Snake'. He drives a motorcycle. No, he's not in college." call.
