Florida health authorities are warning that locally acquired dengue fever cases are set to keep rising in the Tampa Bay area and across the state, prompting mosquito-control agencies to step up surveillance, property inspections and spraying. Locally acquired cases mean people have caught the virus without travelling abroad, which is significant because it points to sustained mosquito-borne transmission within Florida communities rather than imported infections, increasing the risk of wider local spread.

As of 1 September, Florida had recorded 41 locally acquired dengue cases statewide, including 33 in the Tampa Bay region, with Hillsborough County accounting for 30, Miami-Dade seven, Pinellas three and Palm Beach one; Hillsborough and Pinellas are both under official mosquito-borne illness alerts. The virus, spread by container-breeding mosquitoes, can cause fever, severe aches and rash, and in rare cases progresses to life-threatening severe dengue. Florida logged the highest US dengue caseload in 2024 with 1,044 cases, including 85 locally acquired infections, out of a national record of 3,798 cases, and officials are urging residents to eliminate standing water to curb breeding sites.