NEW YORK (AP) — The current dengue epidemic in Florida appears to be the largest in several decades in the continental United States.
State health officials reported this week that more than 250 locally acquired cases of mosquito-borne disease have been recorded so far this year. The vast majority of them were in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located.
Federal health officials say their data on dengue outbreaks is limited. But information available from state health departments and medical journals suggests that Florida’s outbreak marks the highest number of cases in a calendar year in any state since at least the 1940s.
Puerto Rico is still hard hit by denguewith numbers far higher than those seen in any of the 50 states. But in the continental United States, Florida generally has the highest number of locally transmitted cases. The state’s previous worst year was 2023, when just under 200 cases of local spread were reported.
Officials in Hillsborough and surrounding counties said local emergenciesand Tampa-area workers spray day and night to reduce the population of disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
What is dengue?
Dengue fever (pronounced DEHN’-gay) is caused by a virus spread by a type of mosquito.
Many infected people don’t get sick, but some experience fever, flu-like symptoms and, notoriously, pain. It is nicknamed “broken fever” because of the excruciating pain some people feel. Severe cases can cause bleeding, shock and death.
There has been one death from dengue fever in Florida this year – an elderly Tampa woman on September 4.
There are four types of dengue virus, simply called 1, 2, 3, and 4. When a person is first infected, their body produces antibodies against this type for life. If infected with another type of dengue, antibodies from the first infection may fail to neutralize the second type – and may actually help the virus enter immune cells and replicate. This makes it difficult to develop an effective vaccine.
Most people in the Tampa area are not immune to any form of dengue, said Dawn Wesson, an expert on dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases at Tulane University.
How is dengue spread?
The warm-weather mosquitoes that spread dengue live in Florida and other warmer U.S. regions, but experts say they have expanded their geographic range. because of climate change.
For decades, most infections in the continental United States have been found in people who contracted the virus during international travel, as well as locally acquired cases in Puerto Rico.
But in 2009-2010, Key West, Florida, reported first cases of dengue acquired in the continental United States, outside the Texas-Mexico border, since 1945.
Largest dengue outbreak in any US state since then occurred in Hawaiiwhere 264 locally acquired cases were reported over a six-month period in 2015-2016. The Tampa area outbreak, which first emerged in July, is already on pace to surpass that figure.
Around the worldmore than 2.2 million infections and nearly 1,200 deaths have been reported this year, according to the World Health Organization.
There have been nearly 1,900 locally acquired cases in the United States this year, most of them in Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why is it so bad in Tampa?
Florida tends to be highly affected by dengue, in part because the state receives many travelers who have been to Puerto Rico or other places where the disease is present, Wesson said.
Most cases are typically found in South Florida, around the Miami area. It’s hard to say what’s happening in the Tampa area this year, but the increase could be at least partly related to travel habits, she added.
Locally acquired cases in Florida have actually outpaced travel-associated cases, with numbers ranging from 252 to 245 in the past week. But it’s close, and at least 13 cases in Hillsborough County have been diagnosed in travelers, according to the state.
Traditionally, the CDC would be very visible in a situation like this, but that’s not the case this time, Wesson noted.
The U.S. public health agency must be invited by state officials, however, and Florida officials have not requested the presence of CDC disease investigators, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. The agency provided $800,000 in aid to the state health department, he added.
What can you do to prevent infection?
The current outbreak is centered just north of Tampa and workers are spraying to kill mosquitoes. They also checked the properties of the accumulated water, particularly that of tires, where mosquitoes could breed.
According to experts, people living in an epidemic area can take their own protective measures.
Mosquitoes carrying the virus can bite at any time of the day. It is therefore important that people in an epidemic area make their request. EPA Registered Insect Repellents containing active ingredients like DEET, experts say.
Wear loose, long-sleeved shirts and long pants to cover the skin and make it more difficult for mosquitoes to bite. Staying indoors, behind screens or in air-conditioned rooms will also reduce the chances of grabbing a bite.
These steps are especially important just after sunrise and around sunset, when mosquitoes tend to be most active, researchers say.
People should also check their property and get rid of any standing water where mosquitoes could breed.
Climatic conditions and persistent mosquito populations will likely make local dengue outbreaks a more frequent problem, Wesson said.
“There’s a good chance this is the new normal,” she said.
___
Associated Press health and science coverage receives financial support from AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP standards to work with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas on AP.org.
Gn Health
