A locally acquired case of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, has been confirmed in Hillsborough County, state health officials said Tuesday.
In response to the report, Hillsborough’s mosquito control division is conducting aerial spraying and other preventive measures to limit mosquito activity.
Officials did not say where in the county the illness was reported, but the Florida Department of Health’s latest online surveillance page notes it occurred in July.
This is the first reported case of dengue in Hillsborough this year. The county also confirmed one case each of the mosquito-borne illnesses Eastern equine encephalitis in July and West Nile in April.
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Dengue is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
The disease is not endemic in Florida, but the state has recorded nine locally acquired cases this year, four of them in Brevard last month, bringing that county's total up to six.
Last year, the state experienced a huge surge in travel-associated cases of dengue, but numbers are much lower this year.
Dengue can cause fever, severe joint and muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea, but it is rarely fatal, according to the health department. Symptoms appear within two weeks after the bite of an infected mosquito and usually last four to seven days.
The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough urges people to protect themselves by using repellents, wearing long sleeves and removing standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs.
The department continues statewide surveillance for mosquito-borne illnesses.
