Dengue: Woman dies in Florida’s largest outbreak in years

A locally transmitted outbreak of dengue fever on the west coast of Florida is the area’s largest in years and is surging, new surveillance information from the Florida Health Department shows.1Fresh data showed that the outbreak had grown to 252 locally acquired cases in the Tampa Bay area as of 26 September. The first case this year was reported in Hillsborough County in July.Hillsborough County, which includes the city of Tampa, is the centre of the outbreak and has recorded 223 locally acquired cases this year, up from one in 2025. One death has been reported: an 80 year old woman died from dengue, septic shock, and multiorgan failure in Tampa General Hospital.Three counties in the Tampa Bay area have declared ongoing emergencies: Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco. Pinellas reported 13 locally acquired cases so far this year, and Pasco reported three. These emergency declarations allow the counties to speed up…