Dengue Fever Confirmed in Pasco County as Tampa Bay Cases Climb

WESLEY CHAPEL / PASCO COUNTY, FL — Mosquito-borne illness is on the rise across Tampa Bay this year, and Pasco County residents are being urged to take precautions after the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County (DOH-Pasco) confirmed a human case of locally acquired dengue.

DOH-Pasco's official advisory does not identify which community the case was found in, only confirming it occurred somewhere within the county.

Statewide, Florida has confirmed 41 locally acquired dengue cases so far this year, with the vast majority — 30 — in Hillsborough County. Pinellas has reported 3, Citrus 1, and Pasco County 2.

Why Officials Are Concerned

Separately, Tampa Bay 28 reported that Adrian Rodgers, executive director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District, said the numbers shouldn't be brushed off as a minor local blip. "This really is a public health concern at a regional capacity. The entire greater Tampa Bay area should be on alert," Rodgers said.

Beyond the confirmed cases, Pasco County Mosquito Control is investigating additional suspected cases that haven't yet been added to the official count — meaning the true local total could climb further.

What Dengue Fever Looks Like

Dengue is spread through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito and is not contagious between people. Symptoms typically appear within 15 days of a bite and can include a sudden fever, severe muscle and joint pain, headache, and sometimes a rash. Most cases don't involve respiratory symptoms, which can make dengue easy to mistake for another illness at first.

How to Protect Yourself

Health officials recommend the basics of mosquito-bite prevention: draining standing water around your home, wearing repellent when outdoors, and covering up during peak mosquito activity in the early morning and evening hours. Anyone who develops a sudden fever with severe body aches, especially after being outdoors, should mention it to a doctor and note any recent mosquito exposure.

Why It Matters for Wesley Chapel

Statewide numbers have continued climbing since this report — Florida's most recent surveillance update shows the locally acquired case count has grown to 73 as of late August, with Hillsborough now accounting for 59 of them. Since DOH-Pasco hasn't named a specific community for its confirmed case, Wesley Chapel residents shouldn't assume they're in the clear or singled out — but countywide guidance applies here just as much as anywhere else in Pasco, and basic mosquito precautions are worth taking seriously through the rest of the season.