Florida's 102 Dengue Cases Exceed Recent Malaria Outbreak

While most of the media attention has been focused on the state of Florida's recent malaria outbreak (4) on its west coast, another mosquito-transmitted disease continues its multi-year impact on Florida's southeastern coast.

As of June 24, 2023, Florida Weekly Arbovirus Report revealed another 18 travel-associated dengue cases had been confirmed.

This data increased Florida's dengue outbreak to 100 cases in 2023, led by Miami-Dade (64) and Broward (8) countries.

These dengue-infected travelers primarily originated in Brazil and Cuba.

Furthermore, 2 cases of locally acquired dengue have been reported this year.

In 2022, 903 travel-associated and 68 locally-acquired dengue cases were reported in Florida.

To notify residents and visitors, the Florida Department of Health issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory on June 26, 2023.

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

The Department confirmed aerial and ground mosquito spraying continues in these areas to mitigate the risk of further virus transmission.

There are approved vaccines for both dengue and malaria, but access is limited in the U.S. 

As of June 28, 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the U.K. Foreign Office have issued travel advice when visiting Florida.