According to data released today by the American Department of Health, cited by the Spanish news agency EFE, Florida has counted 252 local dengue cases as of September 26. To this number are added 245 imported cases, originating from travelers who contracted the illness elsewhere.
This outbreak has the potential to surpass the 264 local cases recorded by Hawaii during a six-month period between 2015 and 2016. Furthermore, it could set a new record for virus infections in the continental United States since the 1940s, according to the local branch of NPR, the national public radio station.
A state of emergency has been declared in three counties in Florida—Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough—with the latter being the most recent focal point of the outbreak, responsible for 223 of the local cases.
In the city of Tampa, located in Hillsborough County, the first death of the year from dengue in Florida was recorded a month ago. The victim was an 80-year-old woman who had been bitten by a mosquito.
This outbreak has gained national attention because, although common in regions such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, cases are more restricted in continental states like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Globally, dengue cases reached 14.6 million in 2024, a significant increase compared to the 505 thousand registered in 2000, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data. The WHO warned that approximately half of the world's population is at risk of contracting the virus.
The WHO also appealed last month to countries affected by the El Niño phenomenon—characterized by warmer than normal waters in the Pacific—to reinforce disease surveillance. This is because this phenomenon can facilitate the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue, malaria, and Zika, even in areas that were not previously affected.
Dengue is a disease transmitted by the bite of the 'Aedes aegypti' mosquito and does not occur from person to person. It causes fever and severe muscle and joint pain, with symptoms that may appear up to 14 days after the bite.