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Florida Records First Dengue Death of 2026 as Tampa Bay Outbreak Grows
ReFlorida Records First Dengue Death of 2026 as Tampa Bay Outbreak Grows
An 80-year-old Hillsborough County woman died Sept. 4 from complications of locally acquired dengue fever, Florida's first confirmed dengue death of 2026, as mosquito-borne cases surge across the Tampa Bay region.
An 80-year-old woman in Hillsborough County has become Florida's first confirmed dengue fever death of 2026, state health officials said, marking a rare fatal outcome from a mosquito-borne illness that has been spreading at an unusual pace across the Tampa Bay region.
Gay Small died on Sept. 4 — her 80th birthday — from complications of a dengue infection that included septic shock and multi-organ failure, according to the Florida Department of Health. She was bitten by a mosquito near her home on Bayshore Boulevard, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The department confirmed the death after completing its investigation but released no further details.
Her daughter, Anna Small, told WFLA Channel 8 that her mother had been in good health and had worked hard to stay that way. «Cheated, just, you know, it's so unfair because she was in good health, and she worked hard to stay healthy, and she walked, and she ate right and you know, all the things that you're supposed to do,» Anna Small said. «And you know, this virus just kind of comes out of nowhere. She met the wrong mosquito, and that's it.»
The family believes Gay Small first contracted dengue years ago while traveling abroad without knowing it. People who have had dengue before are significantly more likely to develop severe symptoms. While hospitalized, she grew weak, her hands turned red, and she developed tremors that were audible in her voice, her daughter said. She was moved to the intensive care unit by the middle of the week.
Small's late husband, Bob Small, spent his career working on dengue vaccines, according to the couple's daughter. The Times, citing University of South Florida public-health instructor Kristi Miley, reported that a dengue death had not been recorded in the Tampa Bay area in nearly a century.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness that can cause fever, severe aches, nausea and rash, and in rare cases life-threatening complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus is most common in tropical and subtropical regions, including Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa. Locally acquired cases, meaning people contracted the illness where they live rather than while traveling, have been recorded in Florida, California and Texas.
Florida mosquito-control agencies have stepped up surveillance, inspections and spraying as locally acquired dengue cases have climbed in recent weeks. The Times reported that since July, Florida has been experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of locally caught cases, with Hillsborough County at the epicenter. Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are under mosquito-borne illness alerts issued by the Florida Department of Health.
«Dengue does not stop at county lines,» Pinellas County Mosquito Control Director Alissa Berro told Fox 13. «The mosquitoes that transmit the virus generally stay within a relatively small area, but people travel throughout the Tampa Bay area every day. When someone infected with dengue enters a new area, a local mosquito can bite that person and later spread the virus to others. As cases rise across the region, so does the potential for additional local transmission.»
Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services has increased aerial and ground treatments in areas showing dengue virus activity and has been inspecting private properties for potential breeding sites. The Times reported that the stepped-up use of insecticide and larvicide by helicopter appears to be working: of the last 1,500 mosquitoes sent for testing, all returned negative for dengue.
The Florida Mosquito Control Association is urging residents to empty or cover standing water around their homes. The mosquito that spreads dengue is a container breeder, laying eggs in buckets, planters, plant saucers, tires, discarded toys and other objects that collect small amounts of water. The association also advises people to follow what it calls the «three Ds.»
Many people infected with dengue have no symptoms, and most who do become sick recover within a week or two, according to Mayo Clinic. In some cases the illness can progress to severe dengue, a potentially life-threatening condition. Warning signs can develop quickly, often within a day or two after the fever subsides, and may include severe stomach pain, repeated vomiting, unusual bleeding or bruising, difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness and irritability or restlessness. People experiencing those signs should seek immediate medical care.
