The latest state update suggests dengue activity in the Tampa Bay area remains elevated, although it isn’t significantly increasing.
Hillsborough and Pinellas counties combined for 55 new locally acquired cases in the latest weekly report released Thursday, increasing the statewide total to 485 this year.
For the week of Oct. 18-24, Hillsborough reported 39 new cases of the mosquito-borne illness, for a total of 385 since this year’s onset in July. Pinellas added 16 cases and is up to 67. The previous week, Hillsborough added 36 and Pinellas another 14.
Hillsborough extended its state of emergency for dengue until Nov. 5. The declaration, which can last only one week, gives the county administrator and emergency managers the ability to quickly take certain actions to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the community, and provides a path for reimbursement of certain expenses.
Manatee reported its second case of the year. The counts in Pasco, with four, and Polk, with one, remain unchanged since the previous week’s report.
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Also, Sarasota County remains free of dengue, despite the hospitalization of a 63-year-old North Port woman because of the disease. Her infection was reported twice to the health department, records show. The woman attended an event in Tampa the week before she showed symptoms but did not recall being bitten by an insect.
Overall, Florida added 60 locally acquired cases, including the first two this year in Seminole County. The disease has now been reported in 12 counties. Other new infections were in Orange and Citrus.
Health officials remind citizens that the database reflects an undercount because most infected people may not show symptoms for days, if at all.
The Florida outbreak is the largest in the United States in decades. Previously, the most Florida cases were 199 in 2023. Last year, the state reported 62 cases.
This summer, an 80-year-old Tampa woman died of dengue infection, along with septic shock and multiorgan failure, according to a death certificate.
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The virus is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, a species common in Florida. Transmission typically occurs when a female acquires the virus while biting an infected human, then passes it to another person through a subsequent bite.
Hillsborough mosquito management crews continue to increase air and ground insecticide spraying because neighborhood surveillance shows the virus in mosquito populations.
Crews are also going into neighborhoods to inspect for standing water that mosquitoes use to breed, and to educate residents on ways to avoid being bitten.
Contributing to the problem: cases associated with travel to regions of the world where the disease is endemic. The state database added 35 cases of international-travel dengue during the week of Oct. 18-24 and 355 for the year. The vast majority were in Miami-Dade.
People with dengue can feel as though they have the flu, with severe muscle aches, headaches, joint pain, fever and occasional rashes. Hospitalizations are common for severe cases, which may cause bleeding, shock or even death.
Health officials advise residents going outside to apply repellent and wear long pants and sleeves to help prevent mosquito bites.
As of Oct. 24, mosquito-borne illness alerts are in effect in Alachua, Citrus, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco and Pinellas. Advisories are up in Bay, Brevard, Broward, Holmes, Leon, Manatee, Martin, Palm Beach, Polk and Walton.
