Dengue fever warning issued in Florida Keys after locally transmitted cases identified – NBC 6 South Florida

Just two weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a national alert about an increased risk of dengue virus infections in the United States, two cases of dengue fever were detected in the Florida Keys.

Dengue fever can manifest as a flu-like illness with symptoms such as severe muscle and joint pain, fever and sometimes a rash, according to the Florida Department of Health in Monroe County.

“Symptoms appear within 14 days of being bitten by an infected mosquito,” health officials said. “Dengue fever is not contagious but is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito.”

The two cases in the Florida Keys that prompted the alert were transmitted locally, even though the majority of dengue cases reported in the U.S. this year are travel-related, say Florida Department of Health officials in Monroe County.

According to the CDC, there were 2,241 cases of dengue fever in 2024 alone.

Many countries are experiencing rising temperatures, which provide ideal conditions for the mosquitoes that spread dengue fever, allowing them to hatch in large numbers and transmit larger amounts of the virus. The result is an increase in dengue infections.

According to the latest CDC warning, health care professionals should take dengue fever more seriously in patients with fever, especially if they have recently traveled to areas where dengue fever is common, to prevent further cases.