New Florida counties report dengue cases as statewide total passes 400

TAMPA, Fla. ( WFLA ) – Florida’s Pinellas County is continuing to see a spike in dengue fever cases as the state’s outbreak shows no sign of slowing.

Across the state of Florida, 425 locally acquired dengue fevers have been reported since the year began, with the majority of cases being reported in Hillsborough County.

Florida’s outbreak was largely concentrated in Hillsborough County until recent weeks, when Pinellas County has been seeing spikes in local cases as well.

The table below lists which counties have reported cases as of last week.

In addition to the 425 locally acquired cases, there were 288 international cases reported in Florida as well.

USF professor Benjamin Jacob and his team are using AI to target breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus.

“This system that we’re using, which I call Seek and Destroy, is a system that I actually originated in Africa where I was fighting malaria for the last ten years, and we’re still continuing,” explained Jacob.

The system uses satellite infrared images combined with weather patterns and known breeding grounds to spot even more potential locations in a matter of minutes.

“I can find it remotely. I can use satellite data systems with AI to find the habitats that you can’t find. Because I’m looking at it from an overhead point of view,” said Jacob.

The USF group then gives that information to the state who can treat the problem.

Hillsborough county mosquito control is also collaborating with USF. The county continues to be the hotspot for not only the Tampa Bay area, but the state. There is, however, some promise: 36 reported cases within the past week are down from the 79 cases reported the week before.

“That shows a nice slow,” said Gabriel Henderson with Hillsborough County Mosquito Control. “Hopefully, with this cooler weather, that will also create the right kind of environment for us to be able to continue and make sure we are knocking down those numbers even further.”

Hillsborough County Mosquito Control says the main concern for spread still remains in central Tampa, but now cases are starting move east toward Brandon.

“Not necessarily like more numbers, but just some cases in that area that weren’t there before,” explained Henderson.