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Florida Reports First Dengue Death of 2026
Confirmed
In Short: The Tampa Bay Times reported the death of an elderly Tampa woman from dengue fever.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed the state's first dengue-related death of 2026 on Friday, September 4, in Hillsborough County.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral illness that can cause fever, severe aches, nausea, rash, and in rare cases, life-threatening complications.
Health officials reported more than 130 locally acquired dengue cases in Hillsborough County this year, a significant increase from the typical handful of cases.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there were 152 locally acquired dengue cases as of September 12, with 332 overall cases as of September 16, according to the CDC.
The surge in dengue cases in Florida is attributed to climate change, which has expanded the geographic reach of the warm-weather mosquitoes that spread the virus.
The Florida Mosquito Control Association reported 30 confirmed cases in Hillsborough County, seven in Miami-Dade County, three in Pinellas County, and one in Palm Beach County.
Florida mosquito-control agencies are stepping up surveillance, inspections, and spraying to combat the spread of dengue fever.
The death certificate obtained by the Tampa Bay Times listed the cause of death as 'dengue infection' along with 'septic shock' and 'multi-organ failure.
Health officials urge residents in areas with dengue transmission to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites, such as removing standing water around homes.
Dengue fever causes flu-like symptoms, including high fever, body aches, nausea, and a skin rash.
The state's health department expects the number of locally acquired dengue fever cases to rise in the coming weeks.
What this adds
The exact number of infections may be higher than reported, as many infected people do not show symptoms.
Florida reported the most dengue cases among U.S. states and Washington, D.C., in 2024, with 1,044 cases, or more than a quarter of the total.
What's confirmed
- NEW YORK (AP) — Florida is experiencing one of its worst surges of dengue fever in decades, and the toll now includes a death.
- It’s one of more than 130 locally acquired dengue cases reported so far this year in Hillsborough County, which typically sees only a handful.
- The Tampa Bay Times first reported the death, described as an elderly Tampa woman who died Sept. 4.
- Dengue is caused by a virus spread by a type of warm weather mosquito that is expanding its geographic reach because of climate change, experts say.
- For decades in the U.S., most reported dengue cases were in travelers infected in other countries, along with locally acquired cases in Puerto Rico.
- But in 2009-2010, Key West, Florida, reported the first dengue cases acquired in the continental U.S. outside of the Texas-Mexico border since 1945.
- The state’s largest number — nearly 200 — was reported in 2023.
- But this year’s total so far already ranks second, with 152 cases of locally acquired dengue cases so far, according to the Florida Department of Health.
- Many infected people don’t get sick, meaning the number of cases reported in an outbreak can be an undercount of the real number of infections.
- Across the world, more than 2.2 million infections have been reported so far this year, according to the World Health Organization, and nearly 1,200 have died.
- The Florida Department of Health confirmed the death Friday, though it didn’t provide further details.
What's still developing
- Anna Small, daughter of Gay Small, shows a picture of her mother at the beach, who passed away recently of dengue fever. [ JEFFEREE WOO | Times ] Lane DeGregory is an enterprise reporter covering the people of Tampa Bay.
- The goal is to improve health outcomes. Health Dengue fever is spreading.
- The CDC reported in May that 2024 was a record year for dengue in the U.S. Removing standing water around homes can help eliminate breeding sites for mosquitoes that can transmit dengue. (iStock) A total of 3,798 cases were reported from U.S. states and the District of Columbia, a 359% increase over the annual average for 2010 through 2023.
- "Dengue does not stop at county lines," Pinellas County Mosquito Control Director Alissa Berro told Fox 13.
- Florida mosquito-control agencies are increasing surveillance, inspections and spraying as the state reports dozens of locally acquired dengue cases. (iStock) Mosquito-control crews in Florida are increasing aerial and ground treatments in areas showing dengue virus activity, while also inspecting private properties for potential mosquito breeding sites, according to local reports.
- Though less common in the continental U.S., locally acquired cases have been recorded in Florida, California and Texas.
- The victim was 80-year-old Gay Small, the outlet reported.
- "We're in a humid climate, and a big portion of the state is subtropical, so we're going to have more mosquitoes, and I think probably more travelers from this area to areas that would be affected by dengue," Esco said.
- "So this is actually a backyard mosquito; this is notoriously cryptic, it's extremely hard to treat. Really, the best way to combat dengue is by dumping standing water in your backyard," McBride said.
- She said Florida is expected to surpass last year's record of 199 dengue cases.
- Jenifer McBride, communications director for the Lee County Mosquito Control District, described the challenges of addressing dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
- Many people who get dengue fever have no symptoms, but when symptoms do happen, they begin around four to 10 days after a bite from an infected mosquito, and people may think they have something else, like the flu.