October 15, 2001

4:49 PM

It's not germ warfare...and it's not terrorism, but it is the strongest argument to put off that Hawaiian vacation this winter to date. Nothing like a little tropical disease to take the shine off of paradise. I wonder what else is passing underneath the radar with this whole war on terror thing.
posted by shagoth (8 comments total)

I read an article from the New Yorker about how virtually ever creature has a "pox" including mosquitopox. Any mefis want to explain why we don't use germ warfare on insects?
posted by geoff. at 5:53 PM on October 15, 2001

Here's the Hawaii Dept of Health page on dengue fever.
posted by girlhacker at 5:58 PM on October 15, 2001

i didn't think this was passing under the radar -- i saw it on the cnn news ticker last week sometime.
posted by sugarfish at 6:26 PM on October 15, 2001

Damn. I have a honeymoon in December. Do I risk traveling across the US in a fuel-filled plane, or wear long sleeves all week long in Hawaii.
posted by adampsyche at 6:41 PM on October 15, 2001

Dengue fever is not that rare at all... that's not to say it's pleasant, but there are a few cases in Texas every year. Same is true for everywhere else in the more tropical areas of the world -- Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, etc...

In other words, get over it. You're no more at risk now than you were before (if that makes you feel any better).
posted by ph00dz at 6:59 PM on October 15, 2001

Well, ph00dz, the risk is higher this year, at least in Hawaii since they are in the midst of a significant outbreak. True there are cases in the US every year, but it is realatively rare. Disease outbreaks are almost always considered a BadThing™.
posted by shagoth at 7:09 PM on October 15, 2001

I live in South East Asia, I got dengue fever when I was in Indonesia on holiday, one mosquito bite on my face was all it took. The doctors were used to seeing it, being in the tropics and caught it in plenty of time but it's no walk in the park. I really felt like crap. I was exhausted. Getting out of a chair was a major accomplishment.

A friend of a friend I hear was trekking in another part of Indonesia, miles from anywhere. Apparently she contracted a cerebral form of malaria and dengue fever at the same time. She was dead in 3 days. She made it to hospital but there was nothing they could do.
posted by Jubey at 8:59 PM on October 15, 2001

Wow! Maui had 45 hits! And I was hoping to do some serious kitesurfing over there this winter. Damn!
posted by HTuttle at 1:04 AM on October 16, 2001