Dengue: A Growing Regional Public Health Concern in the Greater Tampa Bay Area

Dengue virus has become an increasing public-health concern in the Greater Tampa Bay region. Locally acquired dengue cases have been documented in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Citrus Counties meaning people have been infected through the bite of mosquitoes here in our community rather than through travel outside the area. The Florida Department of Health has maintained a mosquito-borne illness alert in surrounding communities in response to locally acquired dengue transmission.

Because our region is so interconnected, this is not simply a Hillsborough County issue or a Pasco County issue. Thousands of people travel between Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Citrus and surrounding counties every day for work, school, healthcare, recreation and other activities. Reducing dengue transmission wherever it is occurring in the Tampa Bay region helps reduce the opportunity for the virus to be carried into neighboring communities.

For Pasco County Mosquito Control District, that makes dengue prevention both a regional responsibility and a local priority.

Understanding the Mosquito That Spreads Dengue

Dengue is transmitted primarily by the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, and can also be transmitted by Aedes albopictus. These mosquitoes are particularly challenging because they live closely alongside people, commonly use relatively small water-holding containers for egg-laying, and can bite during both the day and night.

Unlike some mosquitoes associated primarily with large wetlands or floodwater habitats, Aedes aegypti is well adapted to residential and urban environments.

Buckets, flowerpot saucers, children's toys, discarded containers, birdbaths, tires, pet dishes, and many other ordinary objects can collect enough water to support mosquito production. CDC recommends that residents at least once each week empty and scrub, turn over, cover, or discard containers that hold water.

That makes community participation especially important.

Mosquito Control Cannot Do This Alone

During a mosquito-borne disease response, professional mosquito-control operations are only one part of the solution.

Every resident and business owner has an important role.

Take a few minutes to walk around your home or business and look carefully for anything capable of holding water. Don't just dump the water—scrub the inside of containers when practical (like birdbaths), because Aedes eggs can remain attached to container surfaces. Then turn containers over, cover them, discard them, or otherwise prevent them from collecting water again.

The goal is simple:

No water = no larvae = fewer adult mosquitoes capable of transmitting disease.

One untreated property can continue producing mosquitoes even while extensive control operations are occurring throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

Protect Yourself From Mosquito Bites

Because dengue vectors may bite during both daylight and nighttime hours, residents should not think of mosquito-bite prevention as something needed only around dusk.

Residents can reduce their risk by:

• Using a U.S. EPA-registered insect repellent according to label directions.
• Wearing loose-fitting long sleeves and long pants when practical.
• Maintaining window and door screens and repairing holes.
• Using air conditioning when available and keeping doors closed.
• Removing water-holding containers around homes and businesses every week.
• Taking mosquito-bite precautions when traveling into areas experiencing dengue transmission.

People who have dengue—or who may have been exposed—should be especially diligent about avoiding additional mosquito bites. A mosquito can acquire dengue virus by biting an infected person and subsequently transmit the virus to other people. CDC advises people returning from dengue-risk areas to continue preventing mosquito bites for three weeks for this reason.

Increased Mosquito-Control Operations

In response to the elevated regional disease risk, residents may notice increased mosquito surveillance and both ground and aerial mosquito-control activities during daytime and nighttime hours.

This is intentional.

An effective disease-response program uses multiple tools rather than relying upon a single treatment method. This approach is called Integrated Mosquito Management, which combines surveillance, elimination of places where mosquitoes lay eggs, control of larvae and pupae, control of adult mosquitoes, and evaluation of treatment effectiveness.

Depending upon surveillance findings, weather conditions, mosquito species, mosquito life stage and disease activity, operations may include ground-based treatments, truck applications, aerial applications, larval-control operations, and adult mosquito-control operations.

Some applications may therefore occur during daylight hours, while others may occur during evening or nighttime hours. Residents may also see mosquito-control aircraft or vehicles operating differently than they have observed during traditional nuisance-mosquito treatments.

These operations are being conducted to address the mosquitoes responsible for disease transmission at the appropriate life stage and time.

PCMCD Is Assisting With the Regional Dengue Response

Pasco County Mosquito Control District is also providing specialized mosquito-control capabilities to assist the coordinated dengue response in Hillsborough County.

We want to be transparent with our residents: some of these operations are taking place outside PCMCD's normal jurisdiction.

Our involvement, however, has a direct connection to protecting Pasco County.

People routinely cross county boundaries throughout the Tampa Bay region. Someone who lives in Pasco County may work, attend school, receive healthcare, shop or recreate in an area experiencing active dengue transmission and return home the same day.

Interrupting dengue transmission at its source reduces the opportunity for the virus to spread throughout our interconnected region and helps protect Pasco County residents.

Pasco remains our primary responsibility, and PCMCD is maintaining the personnel, aircraft, equipment, and operational capability necessary to continue protecting our residents while providing this regional public-health assistance.

We Need Your Help

Government agencies can conduct surveillance, treat mosquito larvae, and control adult mosquitoes—but eliminating the countless small containers around homes and businesses requires everyone's participation.

Once every week: Tip it. Toss it. Cover it. Scrub it.

Protect yourself from mosquito bites.

Encourage your neighbors to do the same.

And if you see PCMCD crews, trucks, or aircraft operating during unusual hours, understand that increased daytime and nighttime activity may be part of our response to elevated mosquito-borne disease risk.

Stopping dengue requires mosquito control, public health agencies, local governments, businesses, and residents working together.

Protecting Our Community. Every Day.