Japan confirms first local dengue fever case in 70 years

TOKYO - Japanese Health Ministry said Wednesday that they confirmed the first locally contracted case of dengue fever.

The patient, a teen-aged girl who lives in Saitama Prefecture adjacent to Tokyo, has no record of overseas travel, the ministry said, adding her condition is currently stable after running a high fever late this month.

Japan sees around 200 cases of dengue fever every year, mostly tourists who catch the illness while traveling in tropical region. The girl may get infected through a mosquito which bit a person who caught the virus overseas, said the ministry.

Top Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga confirmed the news later Wednesday, but said this should not be a cause for alarm as the illness is not transmitted directly from person to person.

Dengue fever, which often spreads in tropical and subtropical areas, was common in Japan during World War II but was locally eradicated for decades.