Woman catches dengue fever while visiting Key West

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) -- Health officials say a Broward County woman caught dengue fever during a trip to Key West.

Lorelei Happel says she learned Wednesday that lab results showed she had the disease. The 51-year-old says she started feeling sick soon after she arrived home in Wilton Manors from her trip.

The Broward County Health Department is now investigating three probable cases.

Dengue fever is a flulike illness spread by the bit of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, a common urban mosquito in the U.S. and Caribbean.

A recent study found five percent of Key West residents show evidence they have been exposed to the virus, but few became ill.

Dengue mosquitoes bite in and around homes, during the day and at night when lights are on.

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