ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Mosquito Control officials are preparing to take to the air to fight the spread of dengue fever, as more locally acquired cases are discovered in Apopka.
The latest cases bring the total number of locally acquired infections in Central Florida to five.
Health officials are also investigating two additional suspected cases as concerns grow about the mosquito-borne illness.
Orange County Mosquito Control Manager Steve Harrison is asking county commissioners for $150,000 to fund aerial spraying aimed at reducing the mosquito population and stopping the spread.
According to the Florida Department of Health, two new locally acquired cases were identified in Apopka.
“That there are two additional locally acquired cases of dengue, that brought us from the three known to now, the two additional, which gives us five. There are also two suspect cases that are being tested,” Harrison said.
Harrison went before county commissioners Tuesday to request funding for the aerial spraying operation.
When approved, the effort is expected to launch from Bartow on Friday, using a plane similar to the aircraft shown by mosquito control officials.
The spraying would target three areas in Central Florida, and around Orange County.
Harrison said aerial mosquito spraying is a routine practice during Florida’s mosquito season and should not alarm residents.
“Aerial applications are nothing residents need to be concerned about. This is a common daily occurrence within the state of Florida, if not in other states as well. During the mosquito season, on any given night somewhere in the state, there is an aerial application taking place,” Harrison said.
Florida has reported 296 locally acquired dengue fever cases in 2026, according to state health department surveillance data.
The outbreak is concentrated in Hillsborough County, which accounts for 259 of those cases. The statewide total is among the highest reported by any U.S. state in decades.
Mosquito control officials say reducing the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which can spread dengue, is key to interrupting transmission.
“We’re trying to bring down the population of Aedes aegypti, which is the primary vector for dengue, because we want to interrupt that transmission cycle. And that’s going to give us the best, public health protection to residents,” Harrison said.
State health officials have also confirmed a dengue-related death in Hillsborough County.
The patient’s identity has not been publicly released.
Orange County Mosquito Control is asking county leaders to approve $150,000 to carry out the planned aerial spraying over Orange County.