A mosquito-borne disease typically found in other countries has reached a new high in the United States.
Florida health officials have declared a local state of emergency over dengue fever, nicknamed “broken fever” for causing such excruciating pain in joints and bones that they feel like they are breaking.
The viral illness has become more common in the United States in recent years.
The Florida Department of Health reported 190 locally acquired cases and one death in several counties, including Pinellas County in St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County in Tampa.
“This is extremely unusual for us,” Hillsborough County spokesman Chris Wilkerson told ABC News.
The most recent numbers are the second highest in state history, with 199 cases reported in 2023, and well above the 62 cases reported last year.
The majority of cases come from people who have recently traveled to at-risk regions around the world, including the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The recent cases have raised alarms, however, as this is the second major outbreak of cases in the continental United States in recent years.
The last major outbreak of cases acquired outside the Texas-Mexico border since 1945 occurred in 2009 in Key West, Florida.
Cases in the United States also saw a spike in 2004, when cases jumped 359% over the two-decade annual average.
“While these introductions have not led to larger outbreaks in the continental United States, they indicate an increasing risk of locally acquired cases, highlighting the need for enhanced surveillance, vector control, and public health preparedness and response efforts in areas where competent mosquito vectors are found,” the CDC said of previous outbreaks.
Experts believe the current outbreak in Florida is due to several factors, including proximity to dengue-affected areas like Puerto Rico, heavy rains and warmer temperatures that help mosquitoes breed more quickly.
Caused by the bites and spread by Aedes mosquitoes, which also spread diseases like Zika and yellow fever, dengue can cause fever, rash, headache, nausea and excruciating pain in some.
However, others have no symptoms, meaning the number of reported cases may be underestimated compared to the true number of infections.
Aedes mosquitoes are found across much of the southeast and southwest United States, with researchers noting that 75 percent of the country is conducive to these particular leeches thanks to suitable climates.
Mosquito control personnel from the various affected counties are contacting communities and conducting home inspections, in addition to regular mosquito inspections, trapping, monitoring and testing.
Recent mosquito samples have tested negative for the virus over the past two weeks.
Meanwhile, laboratory tests confirm that potentially infected female mosquitoes do not transmit the virus to their offspring, according to recent public health updates from Hillsborough County Mosquito Management.
Although all these signs indicate that the likelihood of new infections is decreasing, experts say the threat of dengue fever will not disappear anytime soon.
“I think this will be sort of the new normal,” Michael von Fricken, associate professor of environmental and global health at the University of Florida, told ABC News.
Gn Health
