Florida dengue cases reach 624 locally acquired as the outbreak grows by 100 in a week, health department figures show
Florida's Department of Health recorded 100 new locally acquired dengue cases in the week to 7 November, taking the 2026 total to 624 across 12 counties — the largest US outbreak in decades. Hillsborough County accounts for 468 of the cases and Pinellas for 109; a further 422 cases were travel-associated. At least one death has been reported in coverage of the outbreak.
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Key points
- 100 new locally acquired dengue cases in the week to 7 November took Florida's 2026 total to 624 across 12 counties.
- Hillsborough County has 468 cases and Pinellas 109; the other ten counties have 47 between them.
- A further 422 cases in 2026 were travel-associated, 40 of them in the latest week.
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- The outbreak is the largest in the United States in decades; Florida's previous recent record was 199 cases in 2023.
What happened
Dengue is a viral illness spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Florida's locally acquired cases began in July and peaked by onset month in September; the Department notes that the number of new cases under investigation has decreased in recent weeks, though the confirmed count is still rising.
Nine counties, including Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas and Seminole, were under a mosquito-borne illness alert as of 7 November, and Hillsborough County's local emergency runs to 19 November unless the county extends it.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The county-by-county counts to 7 November, from the Department of Health's Week 44 arbovirus report.
What we don't know yet
- Whether Hillsborough County will extend its local emergency beyond 19 November.
- The outbreak's final size — surveillance counts lag symptoms and completed investigations, the Department notes.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (5)
Why this label: The Department's own weekly arbovirus report, read directly; the weekly and year-to-date figures are its headline dengue lines.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Department's county table in the same report; the county figures sum to its statewide total of 624.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Department's travel-associated section of the same report; Miami-Dade accounts for 271 of the 422.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The comparison is the Herald-Tribune's, reporting the Department's released data; the 624 and 524 weekly figures match the Department's reports.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The Department's weekly report does not publish a dengue death toll; the death is carried as reported by two outlets covering the outbreak, not as a Department figure.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — the Week 44 figures are the Department of Health's own; the weekly count will change as the outbreak continues.