Study: Dengue fever, rare mosquito-borne virus, found in Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Dengue fever is back in Houston. It hasn't been a problem here since the 1950's.

But a new Baylor study has found that at least 47 Houstonians were sick with dengue fever between 2003 and 2005, and two people died of it.

Baylor's Dr. Kristy Murray says doctors weren't looking for dengue fever and didn't recognize the symptoms.

"They'll end up with fever, headache viral type illness. They'll recover, sometimes it takes a week or 2 weeks, but they do recover from the infection," Dr. Murray said. "With a small percentage of people, they can get incredibly sick especially if they've ever had dengue before."

Dr. Murray knows of no recent cases of dengue fever in Houston...but she say it's here. At 6:00 I'll tellyou what she advises Houstonians to do to protect their families.

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