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Dengue Is Surging in Florida-and It's Claimed Its First Life in Nearly 100 Years
Gizmodo • • health
Key Points:
- An 80-year-old Florida woman, Gay Small, has died from dengue fever, marking the first dengue-related death in the state in nearly a century amid a surge of cases in 2026.
- Small developed severe complications including jaundice, multiple organ failure, and septic shock before passing away on her birthday, with dengue infection listed as a contributing cause.
- Florida has reported at least 332 dengue cases this year, with 152 locally acquired, making it the hardest-hit state in the U.S., and health officials are urging precautions against mosquito bites.
- Dengue infection can be asymptomatic or cause flu-like symptoms, but repeated infections with different virus types increase the risk of severe illness, which may have contributed to Small’s death.
- The World Health Organization warns that dengue’s range is expanding globally due to factors like climate change, putting about half the world’s population at risk and increasing the threat to the U.S.
