However, Dr. Harold Margolis, based at the CDC's dengue lab in Puerto Rico, says that doesn't mean that 1,000 people are clinically ill with it.
"When you talk about a dengue case, you talk about someone who is clinically ill. For every case, you may have three or four people who are infected but not ill," he said Tuesday.
He likened it to HIV and AIDS. One can carry the HIV virus yet not have full-blown AIDS.
Symptoms of dengue fever include high fever, aching bones, headaches, pain behind the eyes and a rash. More than 100 million people worldwide have contracted the disease, which is endemic in some tropical areas including Puerto Rico, where Margolis is based, and Central America.
On July 13, in preparation for an Atlanta conference on infectious diseases, the CDC put out a report that said 5 percent of Key Westers could have dengue.
That was an extrapolation of 240 blood samples taken from Old Town residents after an initial outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease last June. Five percent of that group tested positive for dengue or related antibodies.
Five percent of a Key West population estimated at 20,000 people is 1,000 people.
And that has caused all kinds of headaches for tourism officials, since those numbers were reported worldwide.
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"This idea that there's an epidemic here, or that we're on the verge of an epidemic, is just false," said Andy Newman, chief marketing guru for the Monroe County Tourist Development Council.
But it's not, Margolis said.
Since 2009, 43 Key Westers have been diagnosed with having the actual dengue disease, according to the Monroe County Health Department.
"We've never said there are 1,000 people walking around with dengue," Margolis said. But he also said the 43 cases of those with the actual disease are "by definition ... an epidemic."
"I think we've been very clear from a technical standpoint," he said. "Yes, it has gotten to the public that you've got this large number of people who are ill, which is not the case."
He added, "I understand the message has gotten mixed, but we never said don't travel to this area. We're saying take precautions."
Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Director Ed Fussell is trying to sell his board on raising the agency's annual budget from $9.48 million to $12.16 million; that includes $931,000 to fight the spread of dengue.
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