BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County is trying to get a handle on a Dengue Fever outbreak. The County alone now has 11 confirmed cases, according to recent numbers from the Florida Department of Health.
Dengue Fever is a mosquito-borne virus that is rare in the United States. The county’s cases make up nearly 80 percent of Brevard County residents infected with the whole state.
Only Channel 9 spoke to one of the 11 Brevard County residents infected with the virus.
“I was so, so sick and very weak,” Sandra Schmitt said.
Schmitt just recovered from Dengue Fever. She told Channel 9, at first, she thought she had the flu.
“Just body aches, you know, then the fever came,” Schmitt said.
She went to two different urgent cares, where she tested negative for the flu and COVID. Both times, she was sent home and told to hydrate.
“I noticed my hands were swelling, had to remove rings, and then I started noticing a rash from my feet coming up through my legs,” Schmitt said.
The rash covered her legs and spread to her arms.
She was admitted to Viera Hospital, where she says it took doctors about two days to diagnose her with Dengue Fever.
“If it had not been for that third hospital, I mean I don’t know. If they had sent me home, then what? You know?,” Schmitt said. “Because I was not getting any better.”
Brevard County says two species of mosquitoes are the culprits, known to transmit the virus. They’re about the size of a gnat.
If someone is diagnosed with Dengue Fever in the states, typically, the person traveled recently and contracted the virus outside the U.S.
However, all 11 of these cases are confirmed to be “local” cases where the person is believed to be infected in Florida.
Brevard County Mosquito Control Director Joseph Faella says the outbreak likely began with a person infected with the virus overseas, who then was bitten by a mosquito here and then it spread as that mosquito bit other people.
“So, we’re trying to knock those mosquitoes down in between,” Faella said.
He says they are doing what they can to tackle the virus. He says the team would like to go to each person’s backyard to contain the outbreak, but that’s unrealistic. Faella says the county needs the community’s help.
The first thing you can do at home is to eliminate all sources of standing water—buckets, old tires, or bird baths, Faella said.
Faella says mosquitos are known to bite at dawn and dusk.
Mosquitos often try to find shelter, including in homes. Faella says to close doors quickly and repair any broken screens.
If you go outside, wear bug repellent with Deet as an active ingredient and wear long clothes if you can.
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