Pinellas Counts 67 Dengue Cases in a 456-Case Tampa Bay Outbreak, With Helicopters Treating St. Petersburg and Clearwater
The dengue outbreak this station reported from the Hillsborough side on Saturday has its Pinellas chapter: 456 locally acquired cases across Tampa Bay in the state health department's October 30 count, 67 of them in Pinellas, where the county is under a local emergency and answering with helicopters, fogging trucks and door-to-door inspections.
Pinellas County is under a mosquito-borne illness alert and a state of local emergency for dengue. Citing the Florida Department of Health's most recent report, dated October 30, the county puts the Tampa Bay area at 456 confirmed cases of locally acquired dengue this year, including 67 in Pinellas County - the west-side share of the outbreak whose Hillsborough concentration (385 cases) this station reported on Saturday.
The county's answer is visible from the street. Pinellas Mosquito Control is partnering with Lee County Mosquito Control for aerial larvae treatments over parts of St. Petersburg and Clearwater - a fine mist of Bti, a bacterial larvicide the county says is not harmful to humans, pets or pollinators when used properly, dropped from low-flying helicopters in planned windows of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Truck fogging may start as early as 11 p.m., worked by county and Clarke Mosquito Services trucks, and uniformed, badged crews are doing door-to-door inspections with residents' permission. Routine mosquito service requests are paused while the viral activity runs high.
Dengue here is spread by Aedes mosquitoes that breed in small containers around homes - tires, buckets, plant dishes, anything holding as little as a bottle cap of water - and, unlike most mosquitoes, they can bite during the day. The county's guidance to residents is three words: 'Dump. Dress. Defend.' - dump standing water at least weekly, cover up day and night, and use an EPA-registered repellent.
