A Florida woman died from dengue fever on the day she turned 80, as health officials confront an unusually large outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease around Tampa.
Gay Small died Sept. 4 at Tampa General Hospital after contracting dengue locally in Hillsborough County, according to the Florida Department of Health and reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.
Her death certificate listed dengue infection, septic shock and multi-organ failure as causes of death, the Times reported. Small’s daughter, Anna Small, said her mother was believed to have been bitten by an infected mosquito near her Tampa home on Bayshore Boulevard. (Tampa Bay Times)
The Florida Department of Health completed an epidemiological investigation before confirming the dengue-related death on Sept. 18. The agency said it was the state’s first known dengue fatality of 2026. (AOL.com)
Small’s death also appears to be an extraordinary event for the Tampa Bay area. Kristi Miley, an instructor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, told local media that the region had not recorded a dengue death in nearly a century. That distinction applies to Tampa Bay, rather than establishing that no dengue death occurred anywhere else in Florida during that entire period. (WUSF)
The death comes during a sharp rise in infections acquired inside Florida rather than during overseas travel.
By Sept. 12, state data showed 153 locally acquired dengue cases in Florida this year, according to figures cited by USA Today. Hillsborough County accounted for 134 of them, making the Tampa area the center of the outbreak. (AOL.com)
That is a dramatic increase from earlier in the summer. On Sept. 4, the Florida Department of Health was reporting 59 locally acquired infections in Hillsborough County. (Florida Department of Health)
Pinellas County has also recorded local transmission, prompting health officials there to intensify mosquito-control operations. Measures have included truck fogging, aerial larvicide applications and inspections for mosquito breeding sites. (Pinellas Health Department)
And the problem has spread beyond Tampa Bay. Orange County announced two additional locally acquired cases on Sept. 18, on top of a case previously reported there, and increased targeted mosquito treatments in affected areas. (Orange County Health Dept)
Florida residents have dealt with local dengue transmission before. State records show 62 locally acquired cases in 2025, including 35 in Brevard County and 25 in Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade also experienced significant local transmission in 2023. (Florida Department of Health)
What makes the current outbreak unusual is its concentration around Hillsborough County. Health officials told WUSF that the county had recorded just two locally acquired cases between 2015 and 2025 before this year’s surge. (WUSF)
Dengue is carried primarily by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, both of which can be found in Florida.
Most dengue cases reported in the continental United States involve people who were infected while traveling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Local transmission can occur, however, when a mosquito bites an infected person and later transmits the virus to somebody else. (CDC)
Symptoms may include fever, severe headaches, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting and rash. Severe dengue can cause bleeding, shock and organ damage.
The CDC says many infected people experience mild illness or no symptoms at all, meaning official case totals may not capture every infection. Surveillance numbers are also preliminary and can change as new cases are investigated. (CDC)
There are some encouraging signs in Hillsborough County. Local mosquito-control officials told WUSF that recent mosquito samples were no longer testing positive for dengue, suggesting the immediate transmission wave may be slowing. Officials cautioned, however, that the mosquitoes capable of carrying dengue remain common in Florida. (WUSF)
Florida health officials are urging residents to empty standing water around homes, use mosquito repellent and wear clothing that covers exposed skin when practical.
The Florida Department of Health has also increased mosquito surveillance and treatment in areas where locally acquired cases have been identified. (Florida Department of Health)
Florida Department of Health dengue precautions
CDC dengue information and U.S. case data
This version gives you a stronger AdSense angle because it corrects the statewide “nearly a century” implication, updates the outbreak from the outdated eight-case Hillsborough figure in the source, and explains how unusual the Tampa-area cluster actually is rather than simply repeating the original article.
