{"id":74960,"date":"2026-07-29T17:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=74960"},"modified":"2026-07-29T17:45:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:45:54","slug":"first-dengue-case-of-2026-confirmed-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/07\/29\/first-dengue-case-of-2026-confirmed-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"First Dengue Case of 2026 Confirmed in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH-Hillsborough) issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory following a confirmed human case of locally acquired dengue fever<\/strong>.<\/sup> This marks Florida’s first reported case of locally acquired dengue in 2026.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A “locally acquired” case means the individual was bitten by an infected mosquito within the area rather than catching the virus while traveling abroad.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Local Authorities Are Doing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

DOH-Hillsborough and Hillsborough County Mosquito Management are coordinating surveillance and target treatments (such as spraying and mosquito population control) to limit further spread in the area.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevention Steps: The “Drain and Cover” Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Health officials advise residents to practice standard mosquito bite prevention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Drain Standing Water:<\/strong>\n
      \n
    • Empty items where water collects: gutters, buckets, flowerpots, pet dishes, birdbaths, pool covers, and toys at least once or twice a week.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Keep swimming pools chlorinated and drained when not in use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Cover Up:<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Skin:<\/strong> Wear long sleeves, pants, and socks when spending time outdoors, especially around dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Repellent:<\/strong> Use EPA-approved insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Home:<\/strong> Ensure window and door screens are in good repair to keep mosquitoes out of the house.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Key Symptoms to Watch For<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Dengue symptoms usually set in 4 to 10 days after a bite from an infected Aedes<\/em> mosquito and typically last up to a week:<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • High fever<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Severe headache or pain behind the eyes<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Joint and muscle aches (often called “breakbone fever”)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Nausea, vomiting, or skin rash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          If you suspect you or a family member may have dengue, consult a healthcare provider promptly.<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County (DOH-Hillsborough) issued a mosquito-borne illness advisory following a confirmed human case of locally acquired dengue fever. This marks Florida’s first reported case… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":74961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDdcL2ltYWdlcy0zLTQud2VicD9maXQ9NzM4JTJDNDE0JnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiRmlyc3QgRGVuZ3VlIENhc2Ugb2YgMjAyNiBDb25maXJtZWQgaW4gRmxvcmlkYSIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiZG9pcyIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNjMwNDA2NjF9.rPOC_Z9WvMye8DzL5wBDNAeJRwuLSf3xQwUC3QLm83sMQ"},"version":2,"media_source":"sig","attached_media":[{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/jetpack.com\/redirect\/?source=sigenerate&query=t%3DeyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvbGFrZWxhbmRnYXpldHRlLmluZm9cL25ld3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzA3XC9pbWFnZXMtMy00LndlYnAiLCJ0eHQiOiJGaXJzdCBEZW5ndWUgQ2FzZSBvZiAyMDI2IENvbmZpcm1lZCBpbiBGbG9yaWRhIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJkb2lzIiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.RxnXbHHfrZRfEj5g5Bza6yETKMvN_HCik-5jActAzUIMQ","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[14],"tags":[15332,15337,15334,15335,15333,15336,15212],"class_list":["post-74960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-dengue-fever","tag-health-advisory","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-infectious-disease","tag-mosquito-prevention","tag-mosquito-borne-illness","tag-public-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74960"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74962,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74960\/revisions\/74962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}