3 dengue fever infections blamed on mosquitoes in Yoyogi Park

Good luck eradicating that!

More likely tourists had mosquito eggs in their bags. Soldiers brought back mosquito eggs during WW II. Cheap DDT was sprayed outside then,

In addition to the spraying of some chemicals insecticides like they did at Yoyogi park, I wonder if they have considered an additional option if conditions get worse like the new high-tech strategies that involves releasing of genetically manipulated mosquitoes back into the wild. It is suppose to be able to overtake the wild mosquito population that transmits disease to humans. However the best defense against the Dengue fever appears to be by building a strong immune system against the nasty insect borne virus. In other words by supporting your body's own natural ability to defend itself against pathogens, you will not only have resistance to Dengue fever but to every other infectious illness that comes your way.

Good luck to these three. My fiance is from the Philippines, and her niece almost died from dengue last fall. Good that they apparently caught these three cases early. Certainly not something you would normally worry about in Tokyo.

Must have been spread through the recent festivals at Yoyogi park, all these cultural festivals are a feast for these mosquitoes.

The mosquito that causes Dengue ((pronounced dhen-gey) is a day biting mosquito, so be especially careful not to be bitten during the day.

Aren'r=t there DDT spray in Japan now?

DDT is a terrible choice of pesticide that kills not only bugs, but damages the egg laying capacity of birds that consume them. No, no DDT please

i wonder how many other people caught it but didn't know it was dengue fever. i hope this isn't the tip of the iceberg. for adults, it's not a big deal but for kids and infants, it could be fatal.

Japanese officials say they have not detected the dengue virus in mosquitoes caught in Yoyogi Park but they will disinfect areas where sufferers were bitten.

Eh? So, why are they spraying there?

@tokiyo; During WW II, soldiers brought back mosquito eggs with their luggages (bags) so, we had to spray DDT outside. Not on top of trees for birds as we did not climb trees, then. Takeda Yakuhin sdistgributed DDT. for mosquitoes, we jusgt waited it rests on arm and hit to kill.

Must be due in part to the tropical weather in Tokyo, high heat, rainfall and humidity - but it doesn't explain how the dengue mosquitoes got to Japan, on a ship from the Philippines?

Ah, the old 'bone-break' fever. A close friend of mine got it in Vietnam (not the war, but humanitarian work well after) in Hue and nearly died from it -- and this guy was in GREAT shape. Not a whole lot you can do, but try to be careful, peeps.

CrazyJoe: Very true, but in well lit areas they are also quite active at night. Don't crack out the mosquito nets around the futon just yet, but I wouldn't leave the windows or doors open while hanging out laundry or what have you.

Awful. Educator is right about how dengue gets to Japan.

Must have been spread through the recent festivals at Yoyogi park, all these cultural festivals are a feast for these mosquitoes.

And nothing to do with the fact that there are something like 13 million people living in Tokyo? And probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a gazillion or more mosquitoes?

Noooo, not in Yoyogi park. That's like my favorite place to hang out with friends and meet people in Tokyo.

There must have been so many other bugs that died for humans...

However, if dengue fever go pandemic, the medical expense on this will be horrendous.

lol sofa investors.

@wipeout: write bad effect reports of DDT in past 70 years.

Unfortunately there is no vaccine or specific medicine to prevent dengue fever and no conventional treatment. So the only defense is the eradication of the mosquitoes that carry it and measures to protect people from mosquito bites. Antiviral medications like the ones used for the flu have been found to have marginal value therefore treating it as you would the flu appears to be the best option to date. However hope is offered by research being carried out at America in a Biomedical center. They are studying how the disease takes hold and what factors might cause the more serious and deadly hemorrhagic fever. So there is process being made by the investigators.

I keep failing to se why so much fuzz, Japan has over 200 human cases of dengue every year, the only novelty is that this 3 new cases were originated inside the country, but in comparison the risk for an epidemic is much higher from the imported cases.

Even more, mosquitoes can not (yet) overwinter in Tokyo, so there is minimal chance to get a real epidemic before the mosquitoes go inactive and die (no direct human to human transmission). Even more, Japanese people generally have not yet been infected with the disease, so the most dangerous form of the disease (the hemorrhagic fever) would be almost impossible to see here because that requires a at least a second infection.

But lets wait until global warming brings winter temperature a couple of degrees hotter and then you will have a real problem.

Imagine being attacked by mosquitoes all year round and living in Tokyo, one of the world's most expensive cities-ironic!

I know it may sound a bit selfish but after the earthquakes, tsunamis, radiation, all we need is these stupid mosquitos with DENGUE!! I hope this is controlled ASAP!!

I think JP should cover deeply this topic...onegaishimasu.