By ,
Published December 27, 2016
Puerto Rico fears a new dengue outbreak.
The number of detected dengue cases is running at above-average levels as Puerto Rico enters the peak season for the painful disease.
The territory's Health Secretary Lorenzo Gonzalez says 111 cases were reported the first week of June and 117 cases the previous week. Eight cases of the more-severe hemorrhagic form have been confirmed, though no one has died.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control report shows new infections running at a pace that has marked past epidemics. Dengue cases usually peak in early October.
Gonzalez said late Tuesday that detected cases may be rising because of new courses to help doctors identify symptoms.
Puerto Rico had its largest ever dengue outbreak in 2010 with more than 12,000 suspected cases and a record 31 deaths.
Dengue, a disease caused by a virus, has no vaccine. It generally causes fever, headaches and extreme joint and muscle pain. Most sufferers recover within a week. The more severe hemorrhagic form can be deadly.
Once thought to have been nearly eliminated from Latin America, dengue has gained strength in the region since the early 1980s, in part because tourism and migration are circulating four different strains, increasing the risk of multiple exposure and making it more likely victims will come down with the hemorrhagic form.
Dengue rates in other countries in 2010:
Based on reporting by the Associated Press.
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