Outbreaks
Florida dengue outbreak is largest in continental U.S. in decades
Florida has reported more than 250 locally acquired dengue cases so far this year, with most in Hillsborough County, according to state health officials.
Florida's dengue outbreak appears to be the largest in the continental United States in several decades, Medical Xpress reported. State health officials have tallied more than 250 locally acquired cases so far this year, the vast majority in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa. Time reported around 485 cases statewide this year, citing CDC data.
Medical Xpress said available information suggests this is the most cases in a calendar year for any state since at least the 1940s. The previous largest outbreak in a state since then was in Hawaii, where 264 locally acquired cases were reported over six months in 2015-2016. Florida has had one dengue death this year, according to both reports.
Officials in Hillsborough and surrounding counties have declared local emergencies. Mosquito-control workers are spraying and checking properties for pooled water where mosquitoes can breed. The CDC has provided $800,000 in assistance to Florida's health department, but a CDC spokesman said state officials have not asked the agency to send disease investigators.
