Publication Date February 9, 2016 | NPR

State of emergency on Hawaii's Big Island over dengue fever outbreak

United States
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito has been linked to both dengue fever and the Zika virus. Photo: Marvin Recinos, AFP/Getty Images
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito has been linked to both dengue fever and the Zika virus. Photo: Marvin Recinos, AFP/Getty Images

The mayor of Hawaii County has declared a state of emergency on Hawaii's Big Island over an outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever.

The island has seen nearly 250 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus since September 2015. State health officials first reported two cases that originated there in late October 2015, Mayor Billy Kenoi says in his declaration.