Until this week, Pinellas County fought dengue mosquitoes from trucks. Now it's borrowing a helicopter from Lee County. This is Dengue Fever Watch, and it's Wednesday, October 21st. Since Monday's episode: aerial larvicide coming to St. Pete and Clearwater, a big week of nighttime spraying across Hillsborough, and two local cases in Citrus County. Hit follow and you won't have to come looking for the next episode.
Brian Pellerin, for Pinellas County, in a release Monday:
Pinellas County Mosquito Control is partnering with Lee County Mosquito Control to conduct aerial larvae treatments in parts of St. Pete and Clearwater to reduce the population of mosquitoes capable of spreading dengue.
So what's actually different from what Pinellas was doing before? The delivery. WTSP's Eric Glasser reported Tuesday that the county has relied on trucks, and officials say ground crews can't reach all the affected areas fast enough. Lee County's helicopter can spray a fine liquid mist of Bti, a soil bacterium that kills mosquito larvae, into small hidden spots where the dengue mosquito breeds. The county says Bti isn't harmful to people, pets or pollinators. If I live in St. Pete, which streets, and which day? Not set yet. As of Tuesday evening, WTSP reported flights could start as early as later this week, but exact dates and neighborhoods hadn't been determined. Officials were coordinating with the FAA and watching the weather. The flights will run between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Daytime stands out. Most of the spraying we've covered happens after dark. Alissa Berro, who directs Pinellas Mosquito Control, said it's for safety, because pilots flying at treetop height need to see towers and antennas. WTSP notes this follows last week's fatal crash in Manatee County, when a mosquito-control helicopter pilot struck a radio tower. Expect noise overhead. For scale, WFLA cites 37 locally acquired, confirmed cases in Pinellas since August, and Berro said this is the first time in recent history the county has had local cases at all.
Hillsborough County, in a release Tuesday:
Contractors for Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services will conduct aerial applications of Dibrom insecticide to control adult mosquitoes during the nights this week, between sunset and midnight, Tuesday through Friday.
So this one targets the adults, not the larvae. How much ground? About 225,000 acres, from Carrollwood to FishHawk Ranch, with planes at 300 feet. The county says mosquito traps in many neighborhoods are showing dengue virus activity. And the low helicopters people are seeing during the day? That's a separate operation. A county release Monday said helicopters would drop liquid Bti on standing water through Friday, October 23rd, in East Lake and East Tampa, Palm River and Bloomingdale. The county still wants residents to dump or cover standing water, and it takes up to 12 tires a year for free at its collection sites. One date to note: as we reported Monday, Hillsborough's local emergency runs through Thursday, October 22nd. Nothing in today's sources says whether it will be extended again.
The Florida Department of Health in Citrus County, in a release Monday:
The Florida Department of Health in Citrus County (DOH-Citrus) is informing residents of two confirmed cases of locally-acquired dengue. DOH-Citrus and Citrus County Mosquito Control are coordinating surveillance and prevention efforts by conducting treatment such as increased truck fogging, aerial larviciding and localized ground inspections for breeding locations.
Where in Citrus? The release doesn't say. It's titled as a mosquito-borne illness alert. The state's report for October 4th through 10th counted local cases in eight counties, and Citrus wasn't one of them. Along with Brevard's first case, which we covered Monday, that's two counties reporting local cases since that report. What's the department telling people in Citrus? DOH-Citrus says dengue can feel like the flu, with severe aches, fever and sometimes a rash, and isn't contagious from person to person. It asks residents to use EPA-registered repellent, fix screens and drain standing water, and to call their health care provider if they have symptoms.
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Here's what we're waiting on: the state's next weekly count, which FOX 13 says was expected Thursday, whether Citrus and Brevard appear in it, and what Hillsborough decides once its emergency order reaches October 22nd. Sources for all three stories are in the episode notes. This has been Dengue Fever Watch, part of the Lantern Podcasts family. We'll pick it up next time.