[Update: 250] cases Dengue Fever - Big Island

[Quimby4]

Thinking about cancelling our trip June 2016. My younger son swells up bad from mosquitos bites, never encountered mosquito on other Hawaiian islands...

Still waiting for an exchange but very limited properties in the Waikoloa...hmmm

 

[ronandjoan]

Aloha,
A week or two ago, all retail supplies of DEET based repellents were sold out on the Big Island - all store shelves were empty. Perhaps they have been restocked by now.
Until it is reported that the stores are restocked, it may be a reasonable plan to pack repellent in luggage. We have a non aerosol pump bottle that doesn't weigh much.
Jack

Yes, they have restocked. We've been here since Oct 20 so have been here the entire timing of outbreak. Simply sprayed before going out. Some resorts spray too. For example, here at Kona Hawaiian Resort we have only seen small flies, not Mosquitos.

You ll see from my BLOG we spent 3 weeks gardening outside at my brothers house... We have not had a problem.

Just use common sense and spray

 

[Deb from NC]

Joan,
That's good to hear...we leave in a week for the Big Island. We did buy a couple of bottles of pump spray Deep Woods Off to bring along just in case!
Deb

 

[pd2yvr]

Dengue fever and CDC update

Hi All,

Just checked HawaiiCounty.gov website for an update and as of Dec 04, the 'confirmed' case total stands at 136. There was a short video clip from a CDC Doctor on a Big island news site giving a news briefing yesterday that gave a broader review of the outbreak. He thinks it may go on for a few months. The new cases have not spiked but are relatively consistent on a daily basis.

Proportionately against the population, it is a small number but appears to be in early stages still. Please excercise common sense precautions to reduce your chances of exposure especially if you already have a compromised immune system.

Not the most pleasant subject matter for my first post but it follows the lead that TUG already shows in caring for it's fellow members and travellers.

Paul

 

[Luanne]

I guess one of the things that concerns me is that I am extremely attractive to mosquitoes. If there is only one around, it will find me. However I will admit I usually don't use any type of repellant, so that might make a big difference.

 

[pd2yvr]

You'll want to at least give yourself a fighting chance through protection with repellant, appropriate attire, and being cautious around dawn /dusk. Chances of a bite from the dengue carrying mosquito is still pretty slim. I did see that CNN has carried this story recently.

 

[Quimby4]

State of Emergency Issued on Big Island 2/9/16

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...hawaiis-big-island-over-dengue-fever-outbreak

 

[Quimby4]

We have a trip to the BI planned for June. I am just worried about the unknown long term effects of the Dengue Fever, esp traveling with our teen boys. Who would think that the Mosquito Zika virus would be linked to birth defects, sad. I have an II trade confirmed (with E-plus) and 4 seats with frequent flyer miles. I guess I should decide by mid April, 60 days out...

 

[sjsharkie]

State of Emergency Issued on Big Island 2/9/16

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...hawaiis-big-island-over-dengue-fever-outbreak

A State of Emergency is usually issued to allow the state to have broader powers (i.e. sending tires to landfills per the article) in a situation like the dengue fever outbreak. It doesn't indicate that the situation is more or less dangerous than already reported.

The CDC still does not recommend altering travel plans based on the data gathered. The amount of cases (1 in the last week) is quite small when compared to the number of visitors that go to the Big Island. I also noted that I am staying in Waikaloa where no detectable risk is shown on the map. (Actually, I am looking to pick up another week at Waikaloa starting 4/2, so maybe cancellations will help my cause :whoopie

Of course you need to make your own decisions. I am going in less than 2 months, and don't plan to alter my vacation -- although I do monitor the CDC site to determine that there aren't changes to the situation. IMHO, unless you have other risk factors specific to your situation (i.e. immune disease, staying in a high risk location, etc.), the risk is remote that you will be infected.

Here is the link to the Hawaii Dengue Fever web page:
http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak-2015/

-ryan

 

[Deb from NC]

We were somewhat concerned about this when went in late December. But we sprayed down with mosquito repellant every morning, then just forgot about! Never even saw a mosquito...and I'm very glad we didn't cancel...we had a wonderful time!

 

[Quimby4]

We were somewhat concerned about this when went in late December. But we sprayed down with mosquito repellant every morning, then just forgot about! Never even saw a mosquito...and I'm very glad we didn't cancel...we had a wonderful time!

What part of the BI did you stay Deb? We have a week in Kona at the Kona Coast Resort. Now I wish I had booked Paniolo Greens in Waikoloa where there are less cases

 

[GregT]

We are here now and have been tracking this closely. We brought bug repellent with us and sprayed it on when we go to areas that were marked yellow on the risk map. We've not needed to go to Kona so I can't comment on that, but most of the workers here live in Kona and say people are more tired of hearing about it then concerned about getting it.

It does appear to be burning itself out, based on the new cases trend, and I also would encourage people not to cancel their travel based upon the potential risk. Especially for those who are staying in Waikoloa -- I've not seen any mosquitoes at all this entire trip. We have one excursion Saturday to the east side of the island and we will bring spray.

Best,

Greg

 

[riverdees05]

Any issues on the other islands?

 

[sjsharkie]

Any issues on the other islands?

Only cases through transport have been noted on other islands -- none through local infection.

HDOH continues to routinely monitor for cases of imported dengue infection on ALL islands and will continue to have Vector Control perform mosquito site assessments and abatement as needed. Since the beginning of our current investigation on Hawaii island, thirteen imported dengue fever cases have been confirmed (seven on Oahu, three on Maui, two on Hawaii, 1 visitor), and one imported chikungunya case (on Hawaii) has been confirmed. These cases are not associated with the Hawaii island investigation.

 

[geoand]

What part of the BI did you stay Deb? We have a week in Kona at the Kona Coast Resort. Now I wish I had booked Paniolo Greens in Waikoloa where there are less cases

We returned home from 2 weeks at Holua at Mauna Loa Village on on 2/6/16. Never had to use bug spray. We traveled to Hilo twice via saddle road. Traveled to black sand beach with all the turtles near the volcano. No spray and no mosquitos were seen entire trip.

 

[onenotesamba]

Cleveland gets a bad rap. It's not so bad. It's kind of like Detroit, without all of the glitter.

 

[Deb from NC]

What part of the BI did you stay Deb? We have a week in Kona at the Kona Coast Resort. Now I wish I had booked Paniolo Greens in Waikoloa where there are less cases

We stayed at the Bay Club Waikoloa for a week ( RCI trade), then spent a couple of nights at Volcano House and a night at the Sheraton in Kona. We were in and around Kona quite a bit...I would gladly go back tomorrow if I could! I think the odds of getting dengue are very low....

 

[kwilson]

Here is the link to the Hawaii Dengue Fever web page:
http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak-2015/

-ryan

Thank you for the link. We leave for Kona in 5 weeks and will be checking this site daily.

 

[sjsharkie]

Wanted to mention that the risk of dengue fever infection has decreased significantly over the last couple of weeks.

No new cases were reported last week, and the Hawaii Dept. of Health has downgraded the risk level for many of the locations -- there are no "high risk" areas on the map anymore.

Still not out of the woods, but good news for me since I will be there in less than a month!

http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak-2015/

-ryan

 

[PDXGolfer]

Thanks for the update, Ryan. We've been watching this with interest as well, though we won't be on the Big Island until next year. Hope the risk continues to decrease and ultimately goes away. Have a great time and keep us posted.

 

[AKE]

I don't think that it will ever ultimately go away as every year or so there is an outbreak on one or more of the islands as long as I can remember. Some years it is just is worse than others. Now to put it all into perspective, we have been to Hawaii over 50 times, to all the islands and at times during dengue fever outbreaks and have never stopped going there or changing our plans because of it. If we did that then we (and any traveller heading south) would also avoid most other tropical places as dengue fever is found around the globe.

 

[bnoble]

Just use common sense and spray

Yep. We have students traveling to parts of the world where mosquito-borne illnesses are a much bigger deal. Use a quality repellent and wear long sleeves/pants if you are in a heavily mosquito-prone area.

 

[Quimby4]

Wanted to mention that the risk of dengue fever infection has decreased significantly over the last couple of weeks.

No new cases were reported last week, and the Hawaii Dept. of Health has downgraded the risk level for many of the locations -- there are no "high risk" areas on the map anymore.

Still not out of the woods, but good news for me since I will be there in less than a month!

http://health.hawaii.gov/docd/dengue-outbreak-2015/

-ryan

Thank you Ryan

 

[Quimby4]

We returned home from 2 weeks at Holua at Mauna Loa Village on on 2/6/16. Never had to use bug spray. We traveled to Hilo twice via saddle road. Traveled to black sand beach with all the turtles near the volcano. No spray and no mosquitos were seen entire trip.

I need to know more about black sand beach and turtles
Did you stay overnight at the volcano and just do a 1 dayer?

Thank you