Mosquitoes

Symptoms include a high fever, severe headache, eye pain and muscle and joint pain. It is rarely fatal.

With mosquitoes abundant across the state, some counties have been practicing mitigation strategies against the bugs. Experts discuss the latest on "The Florida Roundup."

This week on The Florida Roundup, we discussed the state’s probe into the apparent assassination attempt on former President Trump, mosquito control efforts in Lee County, the public health risk mosquitoes pose, the latest claims check, environmental news stories from across the state and a listener mailbag.

Three sentinel chickens recently tested positive for West Nile virus in the county. While mosquitoes tend to be a year-round problem in Florida, heavy rains with flooding tend to increase their presence.

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.

There’s a few easy ways to ensure that the risk of contracting a mosquito-borne illness goes way down. A good first step is to regularly replace standing water, like what may be found in birdbaths, with fresh water.

The Florida Department of Health has recorded 30 cases in the state this year, all by patients who had been in Cuba. The disease is transmitted to humans by flies called midges and some types of mosquitoes.

The donation from the Pass It on to Kids Foundation will advance groundbreaking work to eradicate neuroblastoma and ovarian cancers. This gift will also support the Nemours' music therapy program.

Two cases of locally-contracted dengue fever were confirmed by health officials in Monroe County this week. Here’s how health and mosquito control officials say you can better avoid being bitten by potentially disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The alert comes days after a locally acquired case was ID's in Hillsborough County. The virus remains less common in the continental U.S., but there have been three times more cases than at this point last year.

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.

Global transportation and trade, compounded by people continuing to alter the local environment, has led to the spread of mosquitoes around the world. But how will these insects deal with a warming world?