Health officials in the Tampa Bay area are warning residents about a rise in the number of locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne illness dengue.
The Hillsborough County branch of the Florida Department of Health said Wednesday that it has confirmed eight locally-acquired cases of the disease, up from the two cases at the end of last month. Tampa is the seat of government for Hillsborough County.
In neighboring Pinellas County, two cases had been confirmed by the county branch of the Florida Department of Health as of Tuesday.
Dengue is not contagious between people, but is spread by infected mosquitoes, specifically the species Aedes aegypti, officials in both counties said.
Infected people start experiencing symptoms within two weeks of being bitten by a dengue-carrying mosquito, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website. The symptoms can last between two days to a week, and include fever, pain behind the eyes, bone pain, muscle pain, joint pain, nausea, vomiting and a rash.
Florida health officials did not say if any of the 10 confirmed patients across the two counties were experiencing severe dengue, which can cause internal bleeding, shock or death, according to the CDC.
About 5% of all dengue patients develop more severe symptoms within hours of getting sick, with symptoms and warning signs including belly pain or tenderness, bleeding from the nose or gums, vomiting blood or finding blood in stool, vomiting at least three times in 24 hours and feeling extremely tired or restless, per the CDC.
Authorities in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties are monitoring the local mosquito populations and taking prevention efforts, but also urged residents to wear loose long-sleeved shirts and pants and to use bug repellents registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The county health officials also recommend that people repair any damaged screens on doors, patios, porches and windows, and to drain any standing and stagnant water from buckets, coolers, flowerpots, pool covers, tires or toys. Stagnant water offers mosquitoes a place to breed.
“We also have inspectors going out checking sites where we think mosquitoes might be breeding, doing door-to-door home inspections in that area where the cases are, and informing the community,” Gabriela Henderson with Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services told WFLA-TV.
