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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported its fifth case of locally acquired dengue on Wednesday. The department only identified these rare cases about a month ago.
What’s happening? In L.A. County, dengue cases are typically only seen in travelers who have visited countries where dengue is found. This new case was found in an El Monte resident who had no history of travel. The department said it doesn’t appear related to the four other cases found recently in Panorama City and Baldwin Park.
How does dengue spread? Although rare in the U.S., dengue is one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the world. It spreads when an infected Aedes mosquito bites a human, or when non-infected mosquitoes bite an infected person and then bite other people. It can lead to flu-like symptoms, muscle pain and mild bleeding, but cases can be more severe.
What’s being done? The San Gabriel Valley Vector Control District will be doing truck-mounted treatments in El Monte that target mosquitoes at different life stages — “ultra-low volume adulticide and low volume larvicide.” That will happen on Friday, Oct. 4 and Monday, Oct. 7 between midnight and 5 a.m. See the treatment map here.
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