Confirmed: 1st Virginia-Based Dengue Infection
The Virginia Department of Health has confirmed a locally acquired case of dengue — the first documented instance of its kind in the Commonwealth.
In a letter to colleagues, State Health Commissioner Cameron Webb, MD, said VDH is working with the Fairfax and Loudoun County Health Departments to investigate the case, which involves a “Northern Virginia resident.”
Dengue is typically linked to travel to regions where the virus is common. In this case, the infected person had not traveled outside Virginia before becoming ill.
Instead, the individual had been near another Virginian who recently returned from international travel and was diagnosed with dengue a couple of weeks earlier.
Dengue spreads via infected mosquitoes. Webb said it’s believed a local mosquito likely bit the pe...
