ORLANDO, Fla. – The discovery of two locally contracted cases of dengue fever and two cases of “sloth fever” believed to be contracted in Cuba has led to targeted mosquito control efforts across Central Florida.
Steve Harrison, Orange County’s Mosquito Control Manager, said the illnesses are rare for the region.
“In Orange County, it’s very rare. We have not had local transmission in modern times,” Harrison said.
Following the recent rains and flooding in neighborhoods like Thornton Park, crews have started spraying to kill any mosquito larvae growing in standing water.
“We want to prevent any mosquito from coming into the area and bite them while they are sick,” Harrison said. “So we heavily focus our control efforts on that area during that time frame in order to prevent any further transmission.”
He also advised residents to take action by removing standing water around their homes to reduce mosquito breeding grounds.
“We just target mosquitoes that could vector those diseases and spread them to other residents in the county,” Harrison said. “We have 90 species in the state of Florida and they do not all behave the same way.”
Harrison remains hopeful that the county’s rapid response will prevent further spread of the illnesses.
“We will go in and provide enhanced control measures for that particular mosquito because what we want to do is, while the person is sick, we want to kill any mosquito that bit them,” Harrison said.
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