PHOTO BY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES VIA UNSPLASH.COM
Two more locally acquired dengue cases have been confirmed in Apopka, bringing Orange County’s total confirmed cases to five, and Orange County Mosquito Control is planning to carry out some aerial spraying in Apopka and Pine Hills over the next two to three weeks.
The county announced the new cases and the spraying plan Monday, October 12. Residents in treatment areas will be notified at least 48 hours before spraying begins, through OC Alert, county social media, and the Mosquito Control website, and spraying will begin after sunset, when mosquitoes won’t see it comin’.
“Locally acquired” means the people were infected by mosquitoes in Central Florida, and not while traveling abroad. According to the county, the Florida Department of Health confirmed the first local case in Pine Hills on September 2. On September 18, two more cases were confirmed in Apopka, and the state raised its advisory to a Mosquito-borne Illness Alert. Four of the five cases are now in the Apopka area, and the other is in Pine Hills.
“We will be spraying in the Apopka and Pine Hills areas to kill the Aedes aegypti mosquito,” said Steve Harrison, manager of Orange County Mosquito Control. The county said it expects the spraying to cut the targeted mosquito population by 99%. It cited the CDC as saying that very low volumes of EPA-approved insecticides can be used safely when applied under established guidelines.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito typically travels less than about 600 feet from where it hatches and often breeds in flowerpots, buckets, tires and toys. “One little container in your yard can be breeding hundreds of mosquitoes, if not thousands of mosquitoes,” a Mosquito Control official told ClickOrlando.
Crews are also going door to door near the cases to inspect and treat water-holding containers, and they are spraying at night on the ground. Mosquitoes trapped near the cases are being tested, and none have shown active dengue virus so far.
The Florida Department of Health in Orange County recommends dumping standing water, repairing damaged screens, using an EPA-registered repellent and covering exposed skin with long sleeves and pants when possible. Dengue spreads through the bite of an infected mosquito, not directly between people. Symptoms can include fever, severe muscle and joint pain, and sometimes a rash, and they can appear up to 15 days after a bite. Anyone with symptoms can call the health department at 407-858-1420. Residents can report large mosquito populations by calling 3-1-1.
Orange County’s cases are part of a larger outbreak. Florida had reported 296 dengue cases as of last week, the most in state history, according to Central Florida Public Media. Hillsborough County accounts for 259 of them. The state reported its first dengue death last month.
