Dengue

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.

It didn't take long for Paulo Picora, with Hillsborough County Mosquito Management, to find Aedes larvae in Sky Lebron's yard. One only needs to know where to look for vectors and "wigglers."

The discrepancy raises questions about how the Department of Health determines where infections originate and whether the state's official numbers accurately reflect the risk of transmission in the county.

Cooler, drier weather will likely need to stick around a little longer before its effects show up in reported case numbers. Hillsborough added 36 infections and Pinellas another 14 in the latest weekly state report.

The Tampa Bay region has 352 confirmed cases across Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, and Hillsborough counties. Hillsborough continues to lead the state with 310 cases.

Maurice Kurtz tells CIDRAP News he woke up with a 101-degree fever and "ached so much." After tests for flu and COVID came back negative, he went to an urgent care clinic for a dengue test.

The 63-year-old pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. The aircraft, spraying pesticide amid a county mosquito-borne illness advisory, went down in a wooded area near homes in Myakka City.

Orange County is reporting two more Florida cases of the mosquito-borne illness known as dengue. The cases are a small indication of the state's record-breaking case total.

The city canvassed urged residents to dump out any standing water, which is how the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes responsible for the virus breed. Most of the breeding spots are abandoned tires.

Health officials have cautioned the mosquito-borne illness doesn't respect county boundaries. In a region connected by daily commuting, infected people can spread it beyond the original hotspots.

Mosquito control experts say this year's unusual weather conditions — extreme drought along the Gulf Coast followed by heavy rain in August — played a part in an explosion of mosquitoes and the current outbreak of locally acquired dengue.

A new cross-bay ferry service will launch soon. Will you be riding? And we learn more about a Flock investigation that led to the resignations and arrests of two Pinellas County deputies.