Florida Issued Dengue and Malaria Alerts

The Florida Health Department recently published an updated Mosquito-Borne Disease Surveillance that revealed additional dengue and malaria patients in Florida.

As of June 17, 2023, the Weekly Arbovirus Report confirmed:

• Four cases of dengue were reported in persons with international travel. In 2023, 88 travel-associated dengue cases were reported. And two cases of locally acquired dengue have been reported.
• Another case of locally acquired malaria was reported in Sarasota County. In 2023, two cases of locally acquired malaria have been reported.

In response to these mosquito-transmitted diseases, Florida has issued alerts for Sarasota and Manatee counties regarding malaria.

And in Miami-Dade County, a dengue alert was issued in April 2023.

The Florida Department of Health is working with local partners and county mosquito control in these areas to mitigate the risk of further mosquito transmission.

Florida continues statewide surveillance for mosquito-borne illnesses, including West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, malaria, chikungunya, and dengue.

From a vaccination perspective, one dengue vaccine is approved in the U.S., and malaria vaccines are currently available in Africa as of June 23, 2023.