Pinellas County Declares Emergency Over Dengue Fever as Tampa Bay Cases Top 140

Pinellas County commissioners declared a state of local emergency over dengue fever Thursday, a move that takes effect immediately and gives the county more room to move fast on mosquito control as the illness spreads across the Tampa Bay region.

The Board of County Commissioners approved Resolution No. 26-76 on Sept. 24, 2026, with the emergency officially on the books as of 3:52 p.m. that day. The declaration covers all of Pinellas County and lets the county administrator waive normal purchasing and contracting rules, tap reserve funds, and extend the emergency for as long as it's needed, all so mosquito crews can move without waiting on the usual paperwork.

Pinellas isn't acting alone. Hillsborough and Pasco counties both declared their own emergencies this week as case counts climbed across the region.

Where the cases are

As of Thursday, the Tampa Bay area had 143 confirmed locally acquired dengue cases, according to the county's emergency resolution. Hillsborough County is the epicenter with 134 cases and one confirmed death. Pasco County has 2 confirmed cases. Pinellas County has 7. Another 21 potential cases across the region are still under investigation.

By the time the county's public health page was updated later that day, the regional count had climbed to 179 confirmed cases, still with 7 in Pinellas.

Pinellas County's first cases this year showed up in Palm Harbor in August, when the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas confirmed two locally acquired infections there. That triggered dawn fogging and door-to-door inspections in the area. The county's case count grew from those two cases to five by early September, then to seven by the time commissioners declared the emergency.

What changes for mosquito control

Pinellas County Mosquito Control has expanded surveillance, ground inspections, larval and adult mosquito treatments, and door-to-door checks across the county. The county is asking residents to let technicians onto their property if a crew shows up, since the mosquitoes that carry dengue breed in small amounts of standing water on private lots, not in the ponds, ditches or canals crews normally target. Residents can check an interactive map on the county's website showing which areas have already been treated and where crews plan to go next.

The mosquitoes responsible, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, don't travel far from where they hatch, often staying within a few houses of their breeding site. But people move around the region constantly, and county officials say that's exactly why a rise in cases in Hillsborough or Pasco can turn into new infections here. A mosquito that bites an infected person can pass the virus on to the next person it bites.

Anyone who thinks they may have a mosquito-borne illness is asked to contact the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County at (727) 824-6932. Mosquito Control can be reached at (727) 464-7503.

The county has not said when the state of local emergency will be lifted. It stays in effect until commissioners or the county administrator determine it's no longer needed, and officials say they'll keep adjusting treatment based on where case counts and mosquito activity show up next.

For more updates like this, visit Pinellas County Community Website and follow us on Facebook. Have something to add? Join the conversation in our Community Forum, and check out more public safety stories and healthcare coverage from around the county.

Header photo: James Gathany / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)