Florida's Local Dengue Outbreak Hits 296 Cases as Hillsborough Reaches 259 and Crews Go Door to Door

Florida's 2026 outbreak of locally acquired dengue has grown to 296 cases in eight counties, and Hillsborough County accounts for 259 of them, according to the Florida Department of Health's latest weekly arbovirus surveillance report, which covers activity through Oct. 3. The state recorded 44 new local cases that week alone.

With transmission still active, City of Tampa employees and state health workers went door to door Friday in five Tampa neighborhoods where cases have been reported, and officials warned that a wet weekend could create fresh breeding sites for the mosquito that spreads the virus, FOX 13 reported.

The outbreak is now the largest run of locally acquired dengue Florida has recorded in recent years, surpassing the 2023 outbreak of nearly 200 cases, according to WUSF. It has already been linked to one death in Tampa.

Where the cases are

Locally acquired cases are infections in people who caught dengue in Florida rather than while traveling. The state's Week 39 report, covering Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, breaks the 296 cases down by county of exposure:

Symptom onset for the local cases fell in July (21 cases), August (154) and September (121), according to the report. One case involved a non-Florida resident. The state has also detected the virus in 20 mosquito pools this year.

Nearly every case that has been typed in the lab is the DENV-2 serotype: 273 of the 296 local cases, including 241 of Hillsborough's 259. Miami-Dade has recorded two DENV-3 cases. The same DENV-2 strain dominates among travelers, with 184 of Florida's travel-related cases linked to exposure in Cuba, the report shows.

How fast it has grown

The statewide total has climbed steeply since late summer. Florida counted 73 locally acquired cases through Aug. 29, according to FOX 13, and 152 in the Department of Health report for the week ending Sept. 12. FOX 13 reported the total stood at 252 a week before the latest report, when Pinellas had 13 cases; Pinellas has since risen to 20.

In Hillsborough, the count rose by 36 from the previous weekly report. FOX 13 reported that 32 of those newly reported cases had symptom onset in September and four in August, a reflection of the lag between when people get sick and when cases are confirmed.

The surge is unusual for the Tampa Bay area. Hillsborough had only two sporadic local cases between 2015 and 2025, according to WUSF, and a county spokesperson called this year's outbreak "wildly unusual." State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has described Hillsborough as an epicenter.

Door-to-door outreach in Tampa

On Friday, Oct. 9, city and Department of Health teams canvassed Southeast Seminole Heights, North Hyde Park, West Tampa, Forest Hills and Sulphur Springs, according to FOX 13 and the City of Tampa. Officials said the neighborhoods were picked because cases have been reported there but have not said whether they hold the city's highest concentration of infections. Workers handed out information on symptoms, preventing bites and draining standing water.

Dr. Carla Fry, Hillsborough's health officer, told FOX 13 that officials have not yet seen the decline in the epidemic curve that would show transmission is slowing. "We do still have ongoing transmission," she said. At a County Commission meeting, she added that "you can't spray your way out of this."

The Tampa Bay Times reported Friday that cases continue to rise after heavy rain in the region. More wet weather was expected through the weekend.

Mosquito control and costs

Hillsborough County has used aerial and ground spraying, with help from Pasco County, and crews have targeted areas around confirmed cases. No new dengue-positive mosquito pools were reported in Hillsborough in the latest week, leaving the county's total at 19, and some recent samples have tested negative, according to Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services.

The fight is expensive. FOX 13 reported that the county has spent $4.1 million on mosquito management, with a new purchase order expected to push projected costs above $6 million. Commissioners considered retroactive approval of $848,349 for three emergency mosquito control purchases, paid from disaster reserves, and the county may seek state reimbursement. Hillsborough's local state of emergency has been extended through Oct. 15.

The City of Tampa has focused on the containers where the Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds. City crews have removed 23 tons of illegally dumped tires over three months, monitored 85 locations and issued two citations, FOX 13 reported, and code enforcement teams are inspecting properties street by street for anything that holds rainwater.

A death and a statewide warning map

On Sept. 18, the Department of Health confirmed that locally acquired dengue caused the death of an 80-year-old Tampa woman who died Sept. 4. The Tampa Bay Times reported she was bitten near her home on Bayshore Boulevard. A University of South Florida researcher told WUSF it was the first dengue death in the Tampa Bay area in nearly a century.

Outside Tampa Bay, health officials in Polk and Orange counties issued warnings in late September after confirming local cases, and Broward recorded its first local case this year. As of Oct. 3, the state listed these levels of mosquito-borne illness warnings:

• Alert: Alachua, Duval, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
• Advisory: Brevard, Broward, Holmes, Leon, Manatee, Martin, Palm Beach, Polk and Walton counties.

Not every county on the list has dengue. Several are under warnings for West Nile virus, which has caused five human illnesses in Florida this year, including a new case in Holmes County reported in the latest week.

Symptoms and prevention

Dengue often feels like a severe flu, with fever, headache, intense muscle and joint pain and sometimes a rash, usually starting within about two weeks of a bite, according to WUSF's reporting on health guidance. Severe cases can cause bleeding or shock and often require hospitalization. Researchers estimate most infected people have no symptoms, which means reported counts likely understate the true spread. People who develop fever after mosquito bites should see a health care provider.

Health officials urge residents to follow the state's "drain and cover" approach:

• Empty water from tires, buckets, flowerpot saucers, pool covers and other containers after every rain, at least weekly.
• Use an EPA-registered repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
• Wear long sleeves and pants, and keep screens on doors and windows in good repair.

What's next

The Department of Health publishes its arbovirus surveillance report weekly, and the next update will show whether the rain that soaked Tampa Bay this week produced another jump in cases. Hillsborough's state of emergency runs through Oct. 15 unless commissioners extend it again. A Department of Health spokesperson in Hillsborough has said the outbreak is going to take some time, and with mosquito season continuing into the fall, Florida's 2026 count is likely to keep rising before cooler weather slows transmission.