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Health

Two Florida counties declare emergencies as dengue cases climb to 190

Hillsborough and Pinellas counties declared states of local emergency on 24 September as Florida's dengue caseload reached 190, with locally acquired transmission spreading across the Tampa Bay region.

By Tom Ellery · · 1 min read

Two Florida counties have declared states of local emergency over the spread of dengue fever, as the state’s confirmed caseload reached 190.

Hillsborough County Administrator Bonnie Wise signed an executive order on 24 September declaring a seven-day state of local emergency, giving county officials and emergency managers the authority to move quickly on mosquito control, including aerial treatments, and creating a path for federal reimbursement of expenses.

The same day, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners declared its own State of Local Emergency, authorising County Administrator Barry A. Burton to approve mosquito-control spending rapidly. The Florida Department of Health’s 24 September report confirmed seven cases in Pinellas County and 179 confirmed cases across the Tampa Bay region, spanning Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties. Pinellas also reported increased West Nile virus activity in sentinel chicken coops, an early warning for potential human transmission.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported 190 dengue cases statewide: 170 in Hillsborough, seven each in Miami-Dade and Pinellas, two in Pasco, three in Orange and one in Palm Beach. Separately, the Florida Department of Health in Polk County reported its first locally acquired case of dengue fever on Thursday.

UF/IFAS medical entomologist Eva Buckner attributed the surge to warmer temperatures, standing water and travel from regions where dengue is endemic.

Sources

More on this topic: all Health stories

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