Florida’s dengue surge prompts warnings as 10 counties face mosquito advisories

Florida reports 73 locally acquired dengue cases this year (as of Aug. 29), with 32 new cases in the past week, and ten counties under mosquito-borne illness advisory or alert as authorities monitor dengue and other arboviruses including West Nile. Advisory counties: Alachua, Duval, Leon, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, Walton; alert counties: Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Pinellas. Dengue symptoms include sudden fever, severe headache, eye/muscle/joint pain, and possible bleeding; West Nile infections are often mild or asymptomatic but can be severe in a minority of cases. Prevention centers on draining standing water, protecting against bites, and using approved repellents. Florida’s FDOH tracks arboviruses through weekly surveillance data.