TAMPA, FL (WFTS) — Hillsborough County's dengue fever outbreak has reached a point where local officials say they need help from outside agencies, additional aircraft and expanded treatment efforts across a much larger area.
That's why county leaders declared a local state of emergency.
Watch report from Jada Williams
While the declaration does not affect residents in the same way emergency declarations tied to hurricanes or COVID-19 once did, officials say it gives Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services access to additional resources needed to fight the mosquito-borne virus before it spreads further.
"Just to put it plainly, it just gives us an opportunity to ask for more resources to combat this issue that we're dealing with right now," said Eric Long, Operations Superintendent for Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services.
Why the county says a state of emergency was needed
According to Long, dengue cases have been increasing so rapidly that existing mosquito-control operations are no longer enough to effectively cover affected areas.
Officials are following guidance from the Florida Department of Health as they try to slow transmission of the virus. With infections appearing in multiple locations, Long said mosquito control teams need to treat large swaths of the county rather than focusing on small, isolated neighborhoods.
"Based on the cases that we've been receiving, growing at a rapid pace, and based on the resources that we currently have right now, we need to effectively cover the whole entire county when it comes to treatment-wise," Long said.
The state of emergency allows the county to bring in additional manpower, equipment and aircraft while also opening the door to further cooperation from neighboring counties and contractors.
Help is arriving from across Florida
Residents may have noticed mosquito-control helicopters and aircraft that do not belong to Hillsborough County.
One example is Lee County, whose crews recently conducted aerial larvicide treatments in Hillsborough County.
Long said Lee County's assistance is only part of a broader regional response.
"Lee County has just recently conducted an aerial larvicide treatment in the East Lake area," Long said. "We do want to thank Pasco and Manatee as well for helping us out."
He said more agencies have reached out offering assistance and acknowledged that additional helicopters could be brought in if needed.
"More than likely, probably yes," Long said when asked if residents could see even more aircraft in the future.
Why residents will see more helicopters overhead
One of the biggest changes residents should expect is a dramatic increase in aerial mosquito treatments.
Officials say helicopters are especially important because they can reach places mosquito-control trucks simply cannot.
Many of the mosquitoes responsible for spreading dengue develop in standing water hidden behind homes, inside fenced properties or in containers located far from roads.
"If someone has about an acre of land, we wouldn't be able to effectively reach that backyard from the street," Long explained.
By flying low over neighborhoods, helicopters can deliver treatment products directly into places where mosquitoes breed.
What's falling from the helicopters?
Many residents have contacted mosquito-control officials after seeing what appears to be a light rain or mist coming from the helicopters.
Long said the product being used during daytime operations is a liquid BTI formula, a biological larvicide designed specifically to target mosquito larvae.
"It's biologically engineered specifically for mosquitoes," Long said.
The goal is to mimic rainfall.
Officials want droplets to land inside buckets, flower pots, toys, bird baths, tarps, gutters and other containers holding water.
If mosquito larvae are present, the treatment prevents them from developing into adult mosquitoes.
"We want one of those droplets to get inside of any kind of container that could be holding water in a citizen's backyard," Long said.
Why there are daytime and nighttime flights
The county's strategy involves attacking mosquitoes at multiple stages of their lifecycle.
Daytime helicopter treatments focus on mosquito larvae before they mature.
Nighttime flights target adult mosquitoes already flying through neighborhoods.
Long said using both approaches at the same time gives mosquito-control teams the best chance of reducing populations quickly.
"The daytime treatments are to knock down the larva population," Long said. "The nighttime treatments are strictly for the adult mosquitoes."
Officials hope reducing both populations at the same time will help interrupt dengue transmission.
Early signs show treatments may be working
Despite the ongoing outbreak, officials are seeing encouraging signs.
Mosquito-control teams routinely trap mosquitoes in areas where dengue activity has been detected. They then test those samples to determine whether the insects are carrying the virus.
Earlier in the outbreak, some of those samples came back positive.
Now, Long says recent testing has produced a different result.
"With the recent samples that we got back this morning, all of the samples were negative," he said.
The tests are not random. Officials specifically collect mosquitoes from locations where transmission has previously been identified.
When those same areas begin returning negative results, it indicates that treatments may be having an impact.
When will the spraying stop?
Not anytime soon.
Long cautioned that one week of negative samples is not enough to declare the outbreak under control.
Mosquito-control officials conduct testing every week and want to see multiple weeks of consistent negative results before scaling back operations.
"We do testing weekly here," Long said. "With a couple of weeks of those same samples coming back negative, then we can comfortably say that this particular area is rid of this virus at this time."
Officials also want to see a decline in human dengue cases before considering major changes to the response.
Until then, residents should continue expecting aerial treatments, neighborhood inspections, mosquito surveillance and public outreach efforts throughout affected parts of Hillsborough County.
What residents can do?
Mosquito-control officials say homeowners remain a key part of the response.
Residents are encouraged to regularly empty standing water from containers around their homes, including buckets, toys, flower pots, bird baths and anything else capable of holding water after rainfall.
Officials say reducing backyard breeding sites, combined with the county's aggressive aerial and ground operations, gives Hillsborough County its best chance of slowing the spread of dengue fever and eventually ending the state of emergency.
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