Florida has passed 250 locally caught dengue cases this year, a total the Associated Press says no state has reached since at least the 1940s. You're listening to Dengue Watch. Coming up: that milestone, a first local case in Broward, and Hillsborough's bill so far. Hit follow and you won't have to come looking for the next episode.
The Associated Press, in a national report on the outbreak:
Federal health officials say their data on dengue outbreaks is limited. But available information from state health departments and medical journals suggests the Florida outbreak marks the most cases in a calendar year for any state since at least the 1940s.
So what's the number behind that? WUSF reports state data through Saturday, September 26th, count 252 locally acquired cases in Florida since July, meaning infected here, not on a trip. Hillsborough has 223. Our last figure from the same state report was 190, through September 19th. That's 62 more in one reporting week. Does that mean 62 people were infected in seven days? Not necessarily. The state counts cases by the date illness began, so late reports fill in earlier weeks. For scale, the AP says Florida's previous worst year was 2023, with just under 200, and that the Tampa-area outbreak is close to passing Hawaii's 264 local cases in 2015 and 2016. With the AP's caveat that federal data is limited. It's a careful reading of the records, not an exact ranking.
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County, in an advisory dated October 5th:
The Florida Department of Health in Broward County (DOH-Broward) is informing residents of a confirmed human case of locally-acquired dengue fever. DOH-Broward and Broward County Mosquito Control are coordinating surveillance, prevention, and control efforts.
Broward's a long way from Tampa Bay. What do we actually know about this case? Very little. CBS Miami reports the person's age, gender, severity and where in Broward they live are unknown. WUSF says it's Broward's first local case this year, making it the eighth Florida county with one in the current outbreak. And it's an advisory, not an alert. What's the difference? Per WUSF, an advisory means mosquito-borne disease activity has been detected and residents should take precautions. An alert signals greater concern and a more aggressive response. DOH-Broward's advice: long sleeves and pants, and an EPA-registered repellent. It notes dengue isn't contagious; it spreads through infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
Jada Williams, reporting for Tampa Bay 28:
The county said there is a positive sign. Some samples taken from high-risk areas have come back with all negative testing mosquitos. But that doesn't mean we're in the clear. Officials warn the outbreak could continue into the winter months, pointing to dengue outbreaks in other Florida communities that have historically lasted beyond the traditional mosquito season.
So some encouraging trap results, but the county is planning for a long haul. What's the bill so far? About $2.5 million, per materials for county commissioners, who get a briefing tomorrow, Wednesday. Mosquito-control products are about $1.96 million of it. The documents list 223 confirmed Hillsborough cases as of October 1st, across 18 ZIP codes. The AP heard similar from county scientist Paolo Pecora: recent sampling hasn't found the virus, which he called a sign new infections are waning. A sign, not an all-clear. Through Friday, October 9th, the county says low-flying helicopters are dropping Bti larvicide by day over East Lake, East Tampa, Palm River and West Bloomingdale. Its online map shows where treatments are happening.
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