Mosquito bites can be more than a nuisance this summer \u2014 they can make you sick.<\/p>\n
Florida has become a hotbed for mosquito-borne dieases, reporting hundreds of cases of dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and even West Nile virus.<\/p>\n
The state leads the nation in dengue cases this year with 270 reported. Increasingly, residents aren\u2019t just acquiring the virus while traveling abroad \u2014 they are getting bitten right at home. Mosquito control experts note that peak dengue season runs from July through September.<\/p>\n
As many as 111 people as of early September have contracted locally acquired dengue in six Florida counties this year. While eight of these cases were in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, a striking 95 occurred in Hillsborough County, where mosquito control teams are working overtime and ramping up spraying. The death of an 80-year-old South Tampa woman may be linked to a dengue infection.<\/p>\n
Symptoms and severity<\/p>\n
A common dengue symptom is a sudden high fever starting four to 10 days after a bite, followed by a skin rash a few days later. Treatment is limited to rest, fluids, and pain relievers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no cure or antiviral medications for dengue,\u201d said Dr. Rana Chakraborty, division chief in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Miami.<\/p>\n
Many infected individuals remain completely unaware.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people can get bitten, acquire dengue, and nothing happens to them,\u201d Chakraborty said. \u201cOnly a fraction have symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
For about 1 in 20 people, dengue progresses to a severe level \u2014 triggering repeated vomiting, nosebleeds, stomach pain, and organ failure \u2014 often requiring hospitalization.<\/p>\n
Local surveillance<\/p>\n
While many species of mosquito inhabit Florida, only two transmit dengue: Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Recognizable by their dark bodies and distinct white-striped legs, these daytime biters peak just after sunrise and before sunset. They also transmit Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya.<\/p>\n
County workers across the state are battling populations by setting traps in parks and neighborhoods, focusing heavily on areas with confirmed cases:<\/p>\n
Palm Beach County (currently under a mosquito-borne illness advisory): Stepped up surveillance and prevention efforts.
\nMiami-Dade County (under a mosquito-borne illness alert): Added wastewater surveillance to track virus spread.
\nBroward County: Operates a robust surveillance, trapping, and targeted spraying program using patented technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working with the Department of Health and every time we have a suspected case of dengue, they contact us, and we spray heavily around the blocks that could be impacted,\u201d said Adriana Toro, Broward County\u2019s assistant director of mosquito control.<\/p>\n
Toro noted that while travel-related cases are unavoidable, Broward has successfully controlled local transmission using patented turbine technology to spray large areas and test mosquito-breeding drains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been proactive on the preventive side instead of waiting for an outbreak,\u201d Toro said.<\/p>\n
Travel and mosquito-borne illnesses<\/p>\n
Frequent global travel significantly drives case numbers. So far this year, 160 Floridians contracted dengue after traveling to endemic areas \u2014 most frequently Cuba. Mosquito experts point to hotter summers and increased rainfall as additional contributing factors.<\/p>\n
Beyond dengue, Florida has reported 60 travel-related cases of chikungunya fever, as well as two locally acquired human cases of West Nile virus in Alachua and Walton counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is smart \u2014 especially around dawn and dusk \u2014 to have EPA-registered repellent on exposed areas of your body,\u201d Chakraborty said.<\/p>\n
Chakraborty added that Miami-Dade\u2019s wastewater sampling aids proactive monitoring, anticipating additional cases as post-summer travel resumes.<\/p>\n
Prevention and protection<\/p>\n
Public health officials are urging residents to take immediate preventive action.<\/p>\n
\u201cUse insect repellent, cover up when possible, and remove standing water around your home. Individual prevention helps protect you and your community,\u201d the Florida Department of Health has urged.<\/p>\n
Pet owners can breathe a slight sigh of relief regarding their animals. Even if bitten by an infected mosquito, pets generally do not develop dengue fever. Toro noted: \u201cIt is typically just transmitted to humans.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mosquito bites can be more than a nuisance this summer \u2014 they can make you sick. Florida has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[506,28,30,29,571,114,373,115,557,109],"class_list":["post-401897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-broward-county","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-health","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami-dade-county","tag-news","tag-palm-beach-county","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/401898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}