In a concerning development, a deadly mosquito-borne illness has made its first local appearance in a Florida county, marking a significant public health alert for the region.
The Florida Department of Health has confirmed the inaugural locally acquired case of dengue fever in Citrus County, a location positioned on the state’s west coast, roughly an hour’s drive north of Tampa. This announcement came over the past weekend, spotlighting the potential risks posed by the disease.
This year has seen Florida grapple with 23 cases of dengue fever that did not originate from international travel. Earlier this month, Hillsborough County reported eight cases, while Pinellas County identified two, illustrating the expanding reach of the disease in the Sunshine State.
Aside from Florida, Virginia remains the only other adjoining state to register a local transmission of this disease, having documented a case earlier in the month.
Throughout the nation, the United States has seen a total of 1,575 dengue fever cases this year, encompassing both local and international transmissions. Florida, with its 108 cases, tops the list among contiguous states, underscoring an urgent need for public awareness and prevention strategies.
Most cases of dengue fever recorded in the US are linked to international travel and the disease was nearly eradicated in the US in the 1970s amid a campaign to wipe out the Aedes aegypti mosquito, identified by the white bands on its legs, which carries the virus.
After that campaign was abandoned, however, the mosquito – and dengue fever – have repeatedly triggered sporadic outbreaks, particularly in Florida, Texas and California.
There have been at least nine states in the US to report local transmission of dengue fever since 2010, data from the CDC shows.
Pictured above is an Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species which carries the dengue fever virus
Overall, since that year, more than 600 cases of dengue spreading locally in the US have been recorded.
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Florida has recorded the most, followed by Hawaii, Texas and California.
Additional cases have also been recorded in Arizona, North Carolina, West Virginia and New York.
Dengue is spread through the bites of infected Aedes species mosquitoes.
Symptoms include fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, severe muscle, joint and bone pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash, usually appearing five to seven days after a mosquito bite.
Most people recover within a week, but some develop severe dengue, which can cause shock, internal bleeding and death if not treated promptly.
The new case comes as the CDC has updated its travel alert for the virus after detecting unusual upticks in cases across the world.
In particular, the agency warned travelers heading to 11 countries and territories to take precautions, highlighting a rise in cases in these areas.
The CDC said it had identified a ‘higher-than-expected number of dengue cases among US travelers returning from’ Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, New Caledonia, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Tonga and Vietnam.
Health officials urged travelers to wear insect repellent, long-sleeved shirts and long pants when outdoors, and to sleep in air-conditioned rooms or a room with window screens.
They warned that children under five, adults over 65 and pregnant women were considered to be at higher risk from the virus.