Updated

Updated · CBS New York · Sep 18

Florida Confirms 1st Dengue Death as 152 Local Cases Mark State's 2nd-Worst Outbreak

Updated

Updated · CBS New York · Sep 18

Florida Confirms 1st Dengue Death as 152 Local Cases Mark State's 2nd-Worst Outbreak

Q: Why is the 48-hour window immediately after a dengue fever breaks actually the most deadly phase for patients?

The 24 to 48 hours after a dengue fever breaks can be the most dangerous because that is when some patients enter dengue’s “critical phase,” even though they may seem to be improving. As the fever falls, the illness can shift from a high-fever viral phase to a vascular one. Tiny blood vessels become abnormally leaky, allowing plasma — the liquid part of blood — to escape into the chest, abdomen, and tissues. That can rapidly reduce the amount of blood effectively circulating, causing low blood pressure, poor urine output, shock, and organ failure. At the same time, platelet counts often drop and the blood can become more concentrated, a sign doctors track through a rising hematocrit. This combination raises the risk of serious bleeding and impaired circulation. In severe cases, patients can deteriorate within hours, which is why clinicians watch closely when the temperature starts to normalize rather than relax. This pattern is well recognized in dengue guidance from the CDC, WHO, and clinicians managing outbreaks. Warning signs during this window include severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, bleeding from the gums or nose, blood in vomit or stool, unusual drowsiness or restlessness, difficulty breathing, cold clammy skin, and reduced urination. Most dengue cases do not become severe, but for the minority that do, early hospital monitoring and careful fluid management are what prevent deaths. That is why a falling fever in dengue is not always reassuring.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Sep 18

An elderly Tampa woman died Sept. 4 in Hillsborough County, the first confirmed death in Florida's dengue surge and part of more than 130 locally acquired cases there this year.
Recent weather helped virus-carrying mosquitoes multiply, driving Florida's statewide total to 152 locally acquired cases so far this year—already the second-highest annual count on record after nearly 200 in 2023.
Hillsborough County crews have been spraying day and night and checking properties for standing water; recent mosquito samples have not detected the virus, suggesting the risk of new infections may be easing.
Experts say dengue can flare when an infected traveler is bitten by local mosquitoes, and climate change is expanding the range of those insects, making recurring outbreaks in Florida more likely.