As an active outbreak of Dengue fever persists on the Big Island of Hawaii, the island’s transfer stations are playing a role in reducing potential breeding grounds and the mosquito population responsible for spreading the illness.
To support home and business owners in cleaning and removing potential breeding areas, the County of Hawaii Department of Environmental Management has extended its weekend transfer station hours for the month of April. All transfer stations island-wide are open on both Saturday and Sunday for the month of April from the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Residents of the Big Island have access to the transfer stations to help dispose of any items that have the potential to catch and hold water. Common breeding sites are in water found in old tires, clogged roof gutters, cans, bottles, unused swimming pools, and other toys, buckets and tarps in yards and landscapes.
Dengue fever is a viral illness transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. Two of the mosquitos that transmit the virus are found on Hawai‘i Island, the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Dengue cannot move directly from person to person—only from an infected person to a mosquito, then after an incubation period, to another person.
The overall case count of those infected remains at 263, according to state numbers. Since the September 2015 onset of the outbreak, 237 Big Island residents were infected with the Dengue virus. An additional 26 island visitors also contracted the disease. Dengue is not endemic to Hawaii. However, it is intermittently imported from endemic areas by infected travelers.
Those travelers may have infected local mosquitoes, as happened in an outbreak on Maui in 2001 that spread to O‘ahu and Kaua‘i before ending in 2002. Symptoms may include sudden onset of fever, severe headaches, eye, joint and muscle pain and rashes on the hands, arms, legs or feet.
The most effective way to keep from contracting dengue is to avoid mosquito bites through personal protection and by reducing mosquito habitats by eliminating standing water near homes and businesses. Discarded garbage and tires that can hold water becomes breeding ground for the mosquitos that are spreading the illness.
Governor David Ige recently signed a supplemental proclamation to extend the state’s emergency period for combating mosquito-borne illnesses. The proclamation, extends the emergency period for another 60 days, and includes not just dengue fever, but all mosquito-borne illnesses, including the Zika virus. Ige originally declared a state of emergency on Feb. 12, four days after Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi issued an emergency declaration in the face of the dengue fever outbreak.