Dengue virus infections among travelers returning from Haiti--Georgia and Nebraska, October 2010.

In October 2010, a Nebraska clinician notified the state's Central District Health Department (CDHD) of a cluster of dengue-like illnesses in six of 28 missionary workers from Nebraska and Georgia who recently had returned after 7-11 days in Haiti. Infection with the mosquito-transmitted dengue virus (DENV) later was confirmed by laboratory testing in seven persons, five of whom were hospitalized. CDHD, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS), the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH), and CDC conducted a retrospective cohort study to assess the pretravel dengue knowledge and mosquito-avoidance practices of those with and without laboratory-confirmed infection. This report describes the results of that study, which indicated that 90% of those in the study had a pretravel health-care appointment, 57% sought travel advice on the Internet, and 24% used mosquito repellent several times a day; neither pretravel knowledge nor mosquito-avoidance practices were significantly associated with absence of DENV infection. Clinicians should be vigilant for dengue among travelers returning from Haiti and other areas where DENV is endemic or likely to be endemic and should report suspected cases of dengue to public health authorities.