The state Department of Health announced Tuesday afternoon that the first laboratory-confirmed case of travel-related Zika virus was detected on the Big Island.
Health officials declined to indicate where the affected person lives and works, or other characteristics.
But a statement from Hawaii County says “a Department of Health Vector Control team was sent to visit the individual’s residence and place of employment to survey the areas for mosquitoes, and treated any areas of concern to reduce mosquitoes and breeding sites.”
“If the person was infectious at any point when they returned, the question is, ‘Did a mosquito bite that person?’” said Jason Dela Cruz, a state public-health educator who works in Hilo.
According to the Health Department’s statement, the affected individual “has a history of recent travel to the South Pacific, and is (now) past the point of being infectious to mosquitoes. Hawaii has no locally acquired Zika cases at this time, and no mosquitoes are transmitting the disease within the state.”
Dela Cruz said mosquito season is year-round in Hawaii, which complicates abatement efforts. The risk today, he said, is similar to the risk at any other time — because of the movement of people. He also noted Zika is similar to dengue in that only about 20 to 25 percent of infected people show symptoms, meaning the virus could potentially spread and die out before it’s ever detected. That could happen several times without detection ever occurring.
The risk of locally acquired Zika is essentially unchanged today from what it was before the new case. But if a mosquito bit the infected person somewhere other than at work or home, while the person was infectious, it’s possible locally acquired cases could occur, Dela Cruz said. That’s why he is encouraging health providers and the public to keep a wary eye.
If someone shows up at a medical clinic with an achy body, pain behind the eyeballs and conjunctivitis, the possibility of Zika virus should be considered and reported to the state DOH.
“In a lot of ways, primary care doctors are kind of like Sherlock Holmes,” Dela Cruz said.
He urges the public to avoid thinking Hawaii is isolated from the rest of the world. The state’s unique proximity to Asia actually is more of a concern, he said, than the possibility of Zika coming in from South America.
“We need to start looking more to the west, I think, as to where our Zika cases could be coming from,” he said.
Responders learned many lessons from the recent outbreak of dengue fever, Dela Cruz said. In January, additional vector control responders were hired by the county.
Now, Dela Cruz said, “when something comes in, it’s about like these firemen are ready for action — and here’s a fire and you want to respond to it.” Responders throw “everything” at it, proactively, to avoid allowing an outbreak, or even a single case, to get out of hand.
The threat of Zika being brought to Hawaii Island exists consistently, Dela Cruz said, because there are about 198,000 people here and, on any given day, about 30,000 are traveling.
“This is important because this is the first case on the Big Island,” he said.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.