250+ more being investigated.

Gov't not ruling out that it was brought in by the outside.

This is screwy because I saw it on the scrolling news ticker watching FoxNews.
But it's not being mentioned anywhere else ?

What is Dengue Fever? Native to the Pacific Islands?

HOLY SHIT, where is this information at???  My whole family is there.

... From what I know Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are caused by one of four closely related, but antigenically distinct, virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4), of the genus Flavivirus. Infection with one of these serotypes does not provide cross-protective immunity, so persons living in a dengue-endemic area can have four dengue infections during their lifetimes. Dengue is primarily a disease of the tropics, and the viruses that cause it are maintained in a cycle that involves humans and Aedes aegypti, a domestic, day-biting mosquito that prefers to feed on humans. Infection with dengue viruses produces a spectrum of clinical illness ranging from a nonspecific viral syndrome to severe and fatal hemorrhagic disease. Important risk factors for DHF include the strain and serotype of the infecting virus, as well as the age, immune status, and genetic predisposition of the patient.

... Mosquito borne

Is there any current use or development of Dengue Fever as a bio-weapon?

Fox News Channel

Look at this shit!:[url]http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=dengue+fever&n=20&c=news[/url] this shit has been going on since Sept. 25th! Why the hell wasn't it reported to people outside of Hawaii?

Are there any website links to this info yet??

... no, and it's only considered a "nuisance" virus by the CDC

Dengue Fever Cases Swell To 59
Ten more people have received confirmation that they have the dengue fever virus, according to the state Department of Health.

That brings the total number of confirmed cases in Hawaii to 59. All confirmed cases have been confined to Maui, Oahu and Kauai.

Dengue Fever Cases By Island:

Maui: 49 (4 new cases)
Oahu: 6 (5 new cases)
Kauai: 4 (2 new cases)
Health Director Bruce Anderson said that there are two suspected cases based on preliminary tests. In addition, officials said that another 262 illnesses remain under investigation.

The Health Department is continuing an aggressive campaign of treating areas with insecticide that are possibly infected by the mosquitoes believed to carry the virus. Inspectors with the department's vector control division have sprayed more than 900 areas.

Gov. Ben Cayetano, Anderson and chief epidemiologist Dr. Paul Effler are scheduled to fly Thursday to Hana in East Maui, the area hardest hit by the virus. More than 30 people near Hana have confirmed cases of the virus, and other cases are believed to have originated in East Maui.

Among those taking part in the visit will be Sen. Kalani English, D-Wailuku-Kahului-Upcountry Maui, who was one of the first people to be stricken by dengue fever in August. He said that having the virus was 50 times worse than any flu or cold he ever had.

English said that he will propose legislation for an enviromental SWAT team that would respond to everything from dengue fever to alien species such as coqui frogs.

"If we have $1.5 million, we are looking at creating 450 to 485 short-term jobs," he said.

State lawmakers and health officials are organizing a number of community meetings across the state to discuss the dengue fever outbreak. For the list of meetings, click here.

[url]http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/hon/health/stories/health-102034020011017-211023.html[/url]

i doubt that it's a very efficient bio-terror weapon in that transmission occurs via the bite of the mosquito, not by breathing it in or ingesting it.  but i wouldn't put it past the terrorists to try.  that it is contracted via mosquito bites also means that it cannot be spread person-to-person, another reason it makes for a pretty inefficient bio-terror weapon.

additionally, if the mosquito is a required part of the life cycle of the virus that causes Dengue fever, there is very little the terrorists can do to make it more efficient.

there are 3 "forms" the disease can take: dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).  classic dengue is rarely fatal, yet another reason that it makes it a poor candidate for bio-terror.  DHF can be fatal.

Man... I better check up with my relatives. They don't live on the Hana side, but Maui ain't that big and mosquitos are bound only by the wind. It makes sense that Hana would be hit the hardest with all of that non-stop rain, it's a mosquito heaven.

It's a popular disease in Malaysia and Indonesia.  Pretty sure there's a vaccine for it, though.

I'd never heard of it emerging in Hawaii before.  Oh, that's why:  "first documented [case] since 1943":
[url]http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011009/hl/fever_1.html[/url]

I wonder if it's possible to have been brought in as a bioterror weapon. [:(]

Nope, it's only transfer by mosquitos.  The last time the fever broke was in 1943.  The news broke like week and a half ago.  And I thought me mail was coming in later than most times.

Isn't Dengue found mostly in Central America ?

These terrorists more than wanting to kill alot of people want to create mass hysteria and panic. They want to send a message. If America panics and mass hysteria ensues, we might spiral into Anarchy and that is what the terrorists want us to do.

My dad had dengue fever, malaria and some other exotic tropical disease that I can't remember the name of while in Burma in WWII.

Recovered very well.

Of course, he was a tough old guy.