LAKELAND, Fla. — A Polk County woman is sharing her experience with dengue fever after she believes she contracted the viral illness from a mosquito in her backyard.
Requinn Nicollette said she experienced numerous symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting and muscle and joint pains.
She said doctors diagnosed her with dengue fever in 2024. She believes she was bitten by a mosquito in her backyard while caring for her dogs.
"I had pretty much all of the symptoms and what started first was severe pain in the back of my eyes and then I started sleeping about 12 hours a day," said Nicollette.
Nicollette is an aspiring country music singer and songwriter. She said typically she shares videos of her music on social media, but decided to share her experience after hearing about locally acquired dengue cases in Florida. The video she posted on TikTok went viral.
"I typically just post my music, but once I saw that dengue fever was back in our community, I wanted to share my story because I didn't even know what dengue fever was when I had it, and maybe if I did know, I would have worn long sleeves, bug spray," she said.
Nicollette said she was hospitalized for four days. She said bone and muscle pain lingered for months.
She also developed a rash and had trouble with her veins.
"I had a rash on both of the back of my legs and my veins were actually leaking, that's also a rarer symptom of dengue," she said.
According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of dengue may include: high fever, severe headache, pain behind the yes, muscle and joint pains, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands and rash.
Dr. Vincent Hsu is an infectious disease physician at AdventHealth. He said not everyone who contracts dengue will get sick. Approximately 75% of individuals infected with the dengue virus are asymptomatic, according to the CDC.
"Remember most patients who get bitten or who get infected with dengue fever, don't have any symptoms at all. So 3 out of 4 people will be infected with the virus, but they do not have symptoms, but for that 1 in 4 that do get it, the symptoms can range from mild symptoms to very severe life-threatening symptoms," said Dr. Hsu.
Dengue in the state of Florida is primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti, yellow fever mosquito.
Hillsborough County Mosquito Services said remove standing water from your property. This includes buckets, garbage cans, coolers, and flowerpots, old tires, discarded bottles and frisbees.
For more information on dengue fever from the Florida Department of Health visit this page.
