\u00a0dengue cases in Florida<\/a>, with 170. There have also been seven confirmed cases in Pinellas, three in Pasco, and one in Polk County.<\/p>\n
\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/assets\/shared-images\/icons\/arrow-circle-down.svg\")
<\/p>\n
\n This story continues below.
<\/p>\n
What is dengue fever? <\/p>\n
Dengue, or dengue fever, is a viral illness spread by infected mosquitoes to people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most people who get dengue do not have symptoms. However, those who do may experience high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash.<\/p>\n
Health officials say most people get better in 1-2 weeks, while some may develop more severe symptoms that can lead to hospitalizations or death.<\/p>\n
Other than pain management, there is no specific treatment for dengue.<\/p>\n
\nHow to avoid dengue fever <\/p>\n
The way to prevent dengue infection is by avoiding mosquito bites. Health leaders recommend taking the following steps:<\/p>\n
The CDC recommends choosing EPA-registered repellents containing DEET (20% to 30%), picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Bug spray should be applied to any exposed skin while outdoors.<\/p>\n
Loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants are recommended when possible. Socks and closed-toed shoes are also strongly suggested.<\/p>\n
Experts say this is one of the most important steps you can take around your home. Look around for any containers or areas in your yard and dump any excess water. According to health officials, as little as a bottle cap full of water is enough for mosquitoes to lay eggs and reproduce.<\/p>\n
There are more steps you can take to keep virus-carrying mosquitoes out of your home. Keep windows and doors closed as much as possible, and fix any holes in your screens. Air conditioning can also help repel the insects by reducing indoor temperatures and humidity.<\/p>\n
\nIs there a vaccine for dengue fever? <\/p>\n
There are currently no dengue vaccines available in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency says people should protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites and controlling mosquitoes in and around thier homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were previously approved vaccines recommended for children with previous dengue infections, but they’ve been discontinued due to a lack of demand.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay area health leaders say there are steps you can take to reduce your chances of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-411950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411950","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=411950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}