TAMPA, Fla. — Right now, Florida is in the middle of a historic dengue fever outbreak.
Tampa Bay 28 anchor Lauren St. Germain covers medical news and recently went to Hillsborough County Mosquito Control because Hillsborough County is still the epicenter of the outbreak.
The county is ramping up treatments, and other counties like Pasco and Manatee are helping as well.
Gabriela Henderson with Hillsborough County told St. Germain that they base aerial and ground spraying on health department information and where they are seeing the positive cases. So, if they aren’t above your neighborhood, it may actually be a good thing.
You can look up Hillsborough Mosquito spraying here. There, you will see a map that shows when and where they plan to treat and have treated.
Henderson also said the temperature is playing a role in this outbreak.
“One of the biggest problems we're seeing right now with this weather is the heat is causing them to hatch faster than normal. Typically, a mosquito can take anywhere from 7 to 10 days to go through. Because you go from egg to adult. Right now, we're seeing it happen in as little as four. And so that speeding up people might be checking their containers for mosquitoes. They used to check maybe once a week. Right now, it really is every day or every other day,” explained Henderson.
She said they are in an uphill battle because of the rainy season and the heat. Right now, they are also really focusing on tire shops.
“So right now we're focusing on, anywhere that there are containers, particularly tire shops is one of our big spots, where we see lots of mosquitoes breeding. Unfortunately, because of the way tires are shaped, there's really not a good way to get all the water out. And all it takes is a bottle cap, amount of water for mosquitoes to go through its whole life cycle,” said Henderson.
She continued, “So that water that stuck in those tires after all of these rains is the perfect spot for mosquitoes to lay their eggs and have tons and tons of mosquitoes. So, it's kind of like a little mosquito nursery, unfortunately.
“So, is it safe to say these tire shops are playing a big part in this outbreak right now?” asked St. Germain
“Definitely. They're definitely a big spot where we are getting positive, mosquitoes coming back. But it's unfortunately not just tire shops. It's kind of everywhere. There are containers, so it can be backyards. It can be, other businesses, construction sites, anywhere that's holding even just the smallest amount of water is enough for mosquitoes,” Henderson said.
She said the biggest message right now is to check your property often for any standing water and dump it out.
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