The first locally acquired case of dengue fever in Miami-Dade County in more than 50 years was confirmed Thursday by health officials. They warned people countywide to take precautions against the human-loving mosquitoes that carry it.
"This is a big deal,'' said Lillian Rivera, administrator of the Miami-Dade Health Department.
"We have not had a locally acquired case of dengue fever since the 1950s,'' said Dr. Fermin Leguen, the department's chief epidemiologist.