Health report: More dengue infections in South FL; another case of West Nile virus in Panhandle

Dengue cases are still rising in Miami-Dade County, while West Nile virus is making rounds in North Florida and Tampa Bay, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Last week, the department reported 10 cases of dengue contracted in the state, all of which came from Miami-Dade, according to the arbovirus surveillance report published on Wednesday. All but seven of the 78 dengue cases people acquired within the state occurred in Miami-Dade.

The department also reported 18 more dengue infections from people who had traveled abroad, bringing the total of travel-associated cases to 384.

Meanwhile, the department reported a case of West Nile virus from Walton County in the Panhandle. So far this year, there have been seven cases of the mosquito-borne illness. But officials detected three of those when persons who carried the virus tried to donate blood. Most of the cases, 5, were found in Escambia County, which is also in the Panhandle. Another person contracted the virus in Sarasota County.

During the summer, several cases of malaria landed Sarasota in national headlines. Now, the Tampa Bay area county is under a mosquito-illness advisory because of the case of West Nile virus. In early September, officials had lifted the malaria mosquito alert in Sarasota.

Unlike dengue and malaria, West Nile virus does not have a vaccine to prevent it or medicine to treat it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, 8 out of 10 people do not develop symptoms.

Officials use chickens to monitor the presence of West Nile virus among other illnesses because mosquitoes become infected after feeding on a bird with the virus. Last week, the department reported that 25 chickens tested positive for West Nile virus antibodies.