Miami’s role as the gateway to Latin America has also made it the US epicenter of dengue fever.
Cases of the mosquito-borne illness in Florida have more than doubled this year compared with the same period in 2023, as unsuspecting travelers have carried the virus back from the Caribbean and Southern Hemisphere. Now, authorities are working to keep the disease from infecting the local mosquito population before this summer’s heavy rains turbocharge the risks.
Florida’s Department of Health has reported 164 cases of dengue since the beginning of the year, with all but six linked to international travel. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Miami-Dadeas the US hot spot for dengue.
The spike comes as the virus has exploded throughout the Americas, driven by unusually humid and hot conditions.
The Pan American Health Organization has recorded 3,274 deaths and 7.6 million cases of dengue in Latin America and the Caribbean this year. That’s more cases than it reported in all of 2022 and 2023 combined.
Brazil alone has registered more than 4 million cases and almost 2,000 deaths due to dengue. On Monday, Puerto Rico announced its first dengue-related death, after declaring a health emergency in March.
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