An elderly Tampa woman has died of dengue fever as Florida battles one of its largest outbreaks in decades
Florida has reported 152 locally acquired dengue cases this year, second only to its 2023 record
County crews are spraying for mosquitoes, and recent mosquito testing has not found the virus
MONDAY, Sept. 21, 2026 (HealthDay News) — An elderly Tampa woman has died of dengue fever as Florida faces one of its worst outbreaks of the mosquito-borne illness in decades.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed the death Friday but didn't share details, the Associated Press reported. The woman died Sept. 4, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported the death.
Most of this year's cases are in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa.
The county has logged more than 130 locally acquired cases in 2026, meaning people caught the virus from mosquitoes in Florida rather than while traveling. A typical year brings only a few, AP News reports.
County spokesperson Chris Wilkerson described the surge as highly unusual for the area.
Statewide, Florida has recorded 152 locally acquired cases so far this year, according to the state health department's latest weekly report. That ranks 2026 second only to 2023, when the state logged nearly 200 cases.
Nationwide, 1,480 locally acquired cases had been reported as of Sept. 16, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most were in Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
The CDC's Florida count is slightly lower than the state's own figure. That's because states send case reports to the CDC on a delay, so federal numbers often trail local ones.
Dengue is caused by a virus carried by certain warm-weather mosquitoes. Experts say these mosquitoes are spreading into new areas as the climate changes, and recent weather likely helped them multiply in Florida, AP News reports.
Many infected people never feel sick, so outbreaks are often larger than case counts suggest. Others develop fever, headache and flu-like symptoms. In severe cases, patients can develop heavy bleeding, shock and death.
For decades, most U.S. dengue cases involved travelers infected abroad, though some local spread occurred in Puerto Rico.
That changed in 2009 and 2010, when Key West, Florida, reported the first cases caught in the continental United States outside the Texas-Mexico border region since 1945.
The CDC says the risk of widespread dengue spread in the continental United States remains low. Limited local outbreaks have occurred in Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Arizona and California.
Outbreaks can start when someone gets infected while traveling, comes home and is bitten by a local mosquito that can pass the virus to others, explained Michael von Fricken, an associate professor of environmental and global health at the University of Florida.
Because these mosquitoes are so common in Florida, he expects the threat to stick around.
"I do think it's going to be somewhat the new normal," von Fricken told AP News.
More information
Visit the Mayo Clinic for more information about dengue fever.
SOURCES: AP News, Sept. 18, 2026; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 15, 2025, and Sept. 16, 2026
To help prevent the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, empty standing water around your home where mosquitoes can breed, and see a doctor if you develop fever or flu-like symptoms.
