Mosquito-Borne Illness

Health experts anticipated 214 dengue travel cases brought into the state from other countries. So far, the count is at 859, about four times the predictions. Here’s what that means for the future.

One Florida physician says climate change needs to be part of the medical school curriculum in the U.S.

With Hurricane Helene flooding Pasco’s coastline, and Milton dumping over 15 inches of rain on the county’s interior, officials said the situation was especially inviting for Aedes aegypti.

Anyone who got sick with COVID-19 during the summer wave in South Florida has some protection against a future infection, but not full protection against germs spreading in fall and winter. Infectious disease experts recommend what shots to get now.

Part of the state’s surveillance program is keeping track of flooded areas, as pools of accumulated rainfall are prone to becoming mosquito breeding grounds.

How do Aedes female mosquitos find the perfect site to lay their eggs? FIU researchers find they rely on one another for good reviews of breeding sites.

Sarasota and Manatee counties remain under mosquito-borne illness alert. Polk and Orange counties are under advisories. Meantime, a third case of dengue was confirmed in Miami-Dade.

Six people in the county have contracted the disease in recent weeks from mosquitoes in the area, officials say. The state remains under a mosquito-borne illness alert.

On this week's Florida Roundup, we discuss a few key laws going into effect Saturday, including immigration reform, permitless carry and parental rights. Plus, what are local officials doing to mitigate the risks of rising temperatures?

This week, a health alert issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted that another case has been detected in Texas, marking the first time there has been a local spread of malaria in the United States in 20 years.

The Florida Department of Health provided a list of precautions with a “mosquito-borne illness” advisory. And the CDC issued a warning to doctors, especially in the South, to be aware of the possibility of infections after a fifth case was confirmed in Texas.

Today, the same day that the first human case of West Nile virus was reported in Florida this year, health officials warned that sentinel chickens in Lee County have tested positive for the infection. Someone near Daytona Beach in Volusia County has been infected with the virus, which is most often spread by a bite from a mosquito. Most people do not develop any symptoms from the virus, however, about 20 percent infected will experience headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, or a rash, or some combination.