A mosquito-borne illness that’s typically found in other countries has reached a new high in the US.
Florida health officials have declared a local state of emergency over dengue fever, nicknamed “breakbone fever” for causing such agonizing pain in the joints and bones that they feel like they’re breaking.
The viral illness has become more common in the US in recent years.
The Florida Department of Health has reported 190 locally acquired cases and one death across several counties, including Pinellas County in St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County in Tampa.
“This is wildly unusual for us,” Chris Wilkerson, a spokesperson for Hillsborough County, told ABC News.
The most recent numbers are the second-highest in state history, with 199 reported in 2023, and well above the 62 cases reported last year.
The majority of cases come from those who have recently traveled to at-risk regions around the world, including the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The recent cases have raised alarm bells, though, as this is the second major outbreak of cases in the continental US in recent years.
The last major outbreak of cases acquired outside of the Texas-Mexico border since 1945 was in 2009 in Key West, Florida.
US cases also saw a spike in 2004, when cases jumped 359% from the annual average over two decades.
“Although these introductions did not lead to larger outbreaks in the continental United States, they indicate an increasing risk for locally acquired cases, underscoring the need for enhanced surveillance, vector control, and public health preparedness and response efforts in areas with competent mosquito vectors,” the CDC said regarding previous outbreaks.
Experts believe the current Florida outbreak is due to several factors, including the close proximity of areas with dengue such as Puerto Rico, heavy rainfall and warmer temperatures that help mosquitos reproduce faster.
Caused by bites from and spread by Aedes mosquitos, which also spread diseases like Zika and yellow fever, dengue may cause fever, rash, headaches, nausea and excruciating pain in some.
However, others experience no symptoms, meaning the number of cases reported may be an undercount of the actual number of infections.
Aedes mosquitos are found in much of the southeastern and southwestern US, with researchers noting that 75% of the country is fitting for these particular bloodsuckers thanks to suitable climates.
Mosquito control staff across the various counties affected are reaching out to communities and conducting home inspections, in addition to regular inspections, mosquito trapping, monitoring and testing.
Recent samples of mosquitoes have come back negative for the virus over the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, lab tests confirm that potentially infected female mosquitoes aren’t passing the virus to their offspring, according to recent public health updates from Hillsborough County Mosquito Management.
While these are all signs that the likelihood of new infections is waning, experts are saying the threat of dengue won’t be going away anytime soon.
“I do think it’s going to be somewhat the new normal,” Michael von Fricken, a University of Florida associate professor of environmental and global health, told ABC News.
