East Los Angeles Local Dengue Outbreak Reaches 3rd City

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed today that locally acquired Dengue is emerging, which is extremely rare in a region where mosquitoes have not previously transmitted the virus.

LA is investigating a new case of locally acquired Dengue in an El Monte resident.

This case of local transmission is the fifth case of locally acquired Dengue reported in LA County's San Gabriel Valley (2 million population) this year.

Similar to the cases reported in Baldwin Park (3) and Panorama City (1), this person had no history of travel to areas where Dengue is endemic.

“This case further indicates that Dengue can spread in our community. Preventing mosquito bites and breeding is the best way to stop local dengue transmission,” said Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Los Angeles County Health Officer, in a press release on October 3, 2024.

On the U.S. southeast coast, the state of Florida reported 548 travel-associated and 40 locally acquired dengue cases in 2024.

Throughout the Region of the Americas, over 11 million Dengue cases and 6,700 related fatalities have been confirmed in the Americas this year. 

While Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease, no vaccine is currently available in the U.S.