Dengue fever outbreak

Jesus said that in the end time there will be pestilences. (Luke 21:11). Now, just because a place here or there experiences the usual outbreak of seasonal whatever, it’s not a cause for alarm nor a sign confirmed.  However, when we read of widespread outbreak, spikes in cases, or epidemics, we pay attention.

Dengue fever, a painful fever associated with the tropics, is running rampant in the Caribbean and also cases are up in the Keys of Florida:

1000 exposed to dengue in FL
Five percent of the population of Key West, Florida — more than 1,000 people — have been infected at some point with the dengue virus, government researchers reported on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico:
Dengue fever turns epidemic in Caribbean
Mosquito-borne dengue fever is reaching epidemic stages across the Caribbean, with dozens of deaths reported and health authorities concerned it could get much worse as the rainy season advances.

Dominican Republic:
Dengue cases double over last y
Thousands of health workers and soldiers will destroy mosquito breeding areas across the country this weekend, worried dengue cases are on track to nearly doubled from last year, officials said Friday. At least 27 deaths have been reported, and health officials say more than 5,000 people have been diagnosed so far in 2010 with the virus that causes fever, headaches and extreme joint and muscle pain.

Trinidad & Tobago:
Dengue upsurge, failing health care system blamed
The failure of local health care systems is mostly to blame for the annual rise of dengue cases, Dr Colin Furlong, Head of the Medical Practitioners Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT), said yesterday. With the advent of the rainy season, the country has again begun to see a flood of possible dengue cases, with one confirmed death two weeks ago, that of a 14-year-old boy.

Puerto Rico: Dengue running above epidemic threshold