Mosquito control crews are taking action just days after a confirmed case of dengue fever in Hillsborough County.
TAMPA, Fla. — Just days after a confirmed case of dengue fever in Hillsborough County, mosquito control crews are taking action.
The county plans to spray parts of South Tampa on Friday. Health officials have not released the exact location of the case, but said the person likely contracted the virus locally from a mosquito bite.
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Dr. Jill Roberts with USF Public Health said people could experience painful symptoms.
“Fever will occur first, then you’re going to look for things like joint pain and bone pain, pain behind the eyes,” Roberts said.
Roberts said a mosquito carrying dengue could infect several people or pick it up from someone who already has it, which is why it’s best to knock out their entire population in an area if you can.
“The way to do that is to go where the mosquitoes are. The mosquitoes are going to be in places that are wet, and the places where they can breed,” Roberts said.
On Friday, Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services will be conducting sprays of insecticides from the air in South Tampa. It will impact everything south of Swann Avenue.
The county said traps in that area have been consistently full, and at one point, there were more than 18,000 mosquitos.
“When it’s rainy, we get lots of pools of mosquito population to just explode. The more rain events, the more problems we have. We need the rain, and I hope it keeps coming, but we have to be aware and keep spraying,” Roberts said.
Hillsborough County said it will be conducting aerial applications between 3-6 a.m. on Friday. It’s also recommended to make sure you don’t have any standing water — pour that out of buckets, clear out your gutters, and of course, wear bug spray.