TDH has confirmed 51 cases of dengue fever this year. Health officials have determined that 16 of the cases were contracted in South Texas. The other 35 cases are believed to have been contracted in Mexico or Brazil. The South Texas girl who died is the only confirmed case of hemorrhagic dengue fever in the state this year. The 16 Texas-acquired cases of dengue fever this year were contracted in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Webb and Willacy counties.
Dengue fever is prevalent in many South and Central American countries and in Asia.
Texas is the only state in the United States that has recorded locally-acquired cases of dengue fever in recent years. Dengue fever season in Texas typically runs from August through December. The dengue virus is carried primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, a species common throughout Texas. Cooler weather either kills the mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus or causes them to become less active. Local, state, federal and Mexican health officials have worked throughout the last several months to address the dengue fever threat along the state's border with Mexico.