HAWAII ISLAND – A pair of prolific internet vloggers have documented their battle with an illness they believe was contracted on the Big Island during a recent visit, while the state of Hawaii investigates two confirmed cases of “locally-acquired” dengue fever on the same island.

Charles Trippy and Allie Wesenberg star in the daily video blogs of the Internet Killed Television web series. The channel CTFxC on YouTube has over 1.5 million subscribers. The channel has been uploading videos every day for the past seven years, said to be a Guinness World Record. Highlights of their Hawaii trip began on October 13 and included footage of adventurous visits to Honaunau in South Kona, South Point, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

But it wasn’t until after Wesenberg returned home that she fell ill and was hospitalized on October 22.

Trippy managed to avoid getting sick and Wesenberg is now out of the hospital. The couple says some of the other tourists they were with while on the Big Island – about 8 or 9, Trippy estimated in one video – also became ill.

“This thing Allie has – or we think she might have – is called dengue fever,” Trippy said in a video following Wesenberg’s discharge from the hospital. “We’ve been talking to the Hawaiian health department and they’re kind of like helping us right now.”

The dengue virus is spread through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes, according to the Hawaii Department of Health. Dengue is not spread directly from one person to another. The symptoms of dengue fever usually start 5 to 6 days after being bitten, and include sudden onset of fever, severe headaches, eye, joint, and muscle pain, and rash. Minor bleeding problems can also occur. The symptoms usually go away completely within 1 to 2 weeks.

On October 29, Hawaii health officials announced they are investigating two confirmed cases of “locally-acquired” dengue fever on Hawaii Island, as well as four more probable cases. Hawaii State Department of Health would not disclose any locations because of “concern for the privacy of the small number of individuals involved in the investigation.”

State officials have not drawn an official connection between the dengue fever investigation and the CTFxC videos.

On Friday, Big Island Video News specifically inquired about the CTFxC videos and any connection those videos may have to the state’s dengue fever investigation. Janice Okubo of the DOH Communications Office said the health department will review the videos before addressing the situation.

The public is advised to take precautions and conduct mosquito prevention throughout the state.