Vector Control District Ramps Up Surveillance, Goes Door-to-Door in Pasadena Following Rare Case of Dengue

On Saturday the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District said in a statement it is working collaboratively with the Pasadena Public Health Department to mount additional surveillance, mosquito control, and educational outreach in the Pasadena neighborhood where a locally acquired case of Dengue was confirmed. 

Pasadena health officials Friday reported an “extremely rare” case of local transmission of the mosquito-borne dengue virus, the first known case in California to occur in a person who had not recently traveled.

“Pasadena Public Health Department has been conducting surveillance and investigation of mosquito-borne diseases in Pasadena for years,” Dr. Matthew Feaster, an epidemiologist with the Pasadena Public Health Department, said in a statement. “Our work so far, in partnership with the Vector Control District, gives us confidence that this was likely an isolated incident and that there is very low risk of additional dengue exposure in Pasadena.”

On Saturday, the Vector Control District reported that testing of locally captured Aedes mosquitoes had not identified any Dengue-infected mosquitoes.

District staff worked quickly to expand surveillance by deploying additional traps and increasing the testing frequency to identify the presence of mosquito-transmitted diseases in local mosquito populations, according to the Vector Control District’s statement.

Additionally, the District said its field staff have conducted property inspections to reduce mosquito breeding sources and performed mosquito control treatments in the area.

District representatives were to start conducting property inspections in the area last weekend. 

San Gabriel Valley Mosquito & Vector Control District representatives will be available to answer any questions or concerns relating to mosquito activity. They can be reached at (626) 814-9466, online at www.sgvmosquito.org, or through social media.