Pinellas dengue cases climb to 37 as local emergency is extended through Oct. 22

Illustrative file photo: An Aedes aegypti mosquito, a species that can transmit dengue, rests on a green leaf. Photo: Wee Hong / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Resized; website wordmark added. Photo source · License

Locally acquired dengue cases in Pinellas County rose to 37 in the Florida Department of Health's report covering Oct. 4–10, up from 20 the week before, according to WUSF's summary of the state figures.

On Thursday, Oct. 15, Pinellas and Hillsborough announced they were extending their local dengue emergencies until Oct. 22, WUSF reported. The previous Pinellas extension, issued Oct. 8 by County Administrator Barry Burton, ran until Oct. 15.

Health officials caution that the real number of infections is likely higher, because most people infected with dengue have no symptoms and may never be tested.

How Pinellas compares

Hillsborough remains the center of the regional outbreak, but WUSF reported that health and mosquito control officials had worried the disease would spread beyond that county. Statewide, 72 new locally acquired cases were reported in the latest week, bringing Florida's total to 368. Pinellas is one of seven counties under a state mosquito-borne illness alert.

Dengue is carried by Aedes mosquitoes, a warm-weather species common in Florida. The county's Oct. 8 release also said Pinellas had detected West Nile virus activity in its sentinel chicken flocks, which the county describes as an early warning of potential human transmission.

What residents may see at night and at the door

Pinellas County Mosquito Control is running fogging trucks and a larvicide truck daily, weather permitting, and truck fogging can begin as early as 11 p.m. Completed and planned truck and aerial treatments are posted on the county's online treatment map.

Some of the trucks are not county-owned. Pinellas contracted extra trucks from Illinois-based Clarke Mosquito Services for overnight treatments, and the county says they carry both Pinellas County and Clarke branding and may have out-of-state license plates. Lee County Mosquito Control has also provided equipment.

In treatment areas, county staff are going door to door and, with residents' permission, treating standing water that could breed mosquitoes. The county says these crews wear Pinellas County uniforms and ID badges, so checking for both is a reasonable step before letting anyone onto your property.

What the emergency does

The County Commission declared the emergency on Sept. 24. It lets the county administrator quickly approve mosquito control spending and allows for potential reimbursement if state funding becomes available.

Steps to take at home

The county asks residents to dump standing water around their property once a week. State health officials point to buckets, flowerpots, toys, pet dishes, bird baths, clogged gutters and discarded tires, and say to check pool covers and plant leaves too.

Outdoors, the county recommends light-colored, long-sleeved clothing and closed-toed shoes, plus an EPA-registered repellent such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

If you think you have a mosquito-borne illness, the county directs you to the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas at (727) 824-6932. Updates are posted at Pinellas.gov/mosquito and Pinellas.gov/dengue.