Rising cases of dengue fever in neighboring states have officials concerned

The rising number of dengue fever cases in the U.S. has the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning local health care providers to be on the lookout.

I called the Southern Nevada Health District to find out if dengue fever has been found in southern Nevada. Watch my story below.

Right now, there are no cases, but a map I acquired from the CDC shows neighboring states with cases, and that's a concern for some health officials.

CDC

"When I looked at the map and I saw all the states around Nevada have small cases of dengue fever, it's just probably a matter of time, doctor, before we get it here," I asked Dr. Preethi Kumar, chief clinical officer at Reliant Physicians.

"No, that's a great concern," Dr. Kumar said. "I saw the same map as you, Trisha, and I was also a little worried that it's too close for comfort. Yeah. However, you know, I think we are very well prepared. I think our increasing the awareness of dengue fever, increasing the awareness of symptoms, you know, taking precautions like using mosquito repellent, staying away from stagnant water. I think those are the kinds of things we can do and preparation, but it's not too much of an alarm only because, like I said, not all patients who have dengue fever will have symptoms."

Symptoms include fever with aches and pains, headaches, nausea, vomiting and a rash. Severe cases involve bleeding from the gums or mouth, doctors tell me.

Symptoms usually begin within two weeks of being bitten by a mosquito and they can last anywhere
from two to seven days.

Some people who get dengue fever will be asymptomatic.