Florida recorded its first confirmed dengue fever death of 2026 earlier this month, according to the Florida Department of Health. Gay Small of Hillsborough County died Sept. 4, the day she turned 80.

Small died from complications of a dengue infection after a mosquito bit her near her home on Bayshore Boulevard, The Tampa Bay Times reported. Those complications included septic shock and failure of multiple organs.

Her daughter, Anna Small, described the loss as profoundly unfair because her mother had been in good health. She said Small worked hard to remain healthy, walked and ate properly.

“And, you know, this virus just kind of comes out of nowhere. She met the wrong mosquito, and that’s it,” Anna Small told Tampa’s WFLA Channel 8.

The family believes Gay Small may have contracted dengue years earlier while traveling abroad without realizing it. People who previously had dengue are much more likely to develop severe symptoms during another infection.

While hospitalized, Small became weak, her hands turned red and she developed tremors that her daughter could hear in her voice, WFLA reported. By the middle of the week, she had been admitted to the intensive care unit.

Small’s late husband, Bob Small, spent his career working on dengue vaccines, according to their daughter. The disease he had worked to combat ultimately claimed his wife’s life.

The Florida Department of Health confirmed Small’s death on Friday after completing its investigation, WFLA reported. The agency did not release additional information about the case.

Citing University of South Florida public health instructor Kristi Miley, the Times reported that the Tampa Bay area had not recorded a dengue death in nearly a century. Since July, Florida has experienced what the newspaper called an unprecedented outbreak of locally contracted cases.

Hillsborough County, where Small lived, has been at the center of the outbreak, according to the Times. Both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties are under mosquito transmitted illness alerts issued by the Florida Department of Health.

Dengue is a viral illness spread to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can cause fever, severe aches, nausea and rash, along with potentially fatal complications in rare cases.

The virus is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions, including Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa. Although less common in the continental United States, locally acquired infections have been recorded in Florida, California and Texas.

Florida mosquito control agencies have increased surveillance, property inspections and spraying as locally acquired cases rise. These cases involve people contracting dengue where they live rather than during travel abroad.

“Dengue does not stop at county lines,” Pinellas County Mosquito Control Director Alissa Berro told Fox 13. Berro explained that the mosquitoes transmitting dengue generally remain in a relatively small area, while people routinely travel throughout Tampa Bay.

“When someone infected with dengue enters a new area, a local mosquito can bite that person and later spread the virus to others. As cases rise across the region, so does the potential for additional local transmission,” Berro said.

Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services has expanded aerial and ground treatments in areas showing dengue activity. Crews have also inspected private properties for possible breeding sites, and the most recent 1,500 mosquitoes submitted for testing were negative for dengue, the Times reported.

The Florida Mosquito Control Association is urging residents to empty or cover standing water. Mosquitoes that spread dengue lay eggs in containers such as buckets, planters, plant saucers, tires, discarded toys and other objects holding small amounts of water.

Residents are also advised to follow the association’s “three Ds.” Those steps are dressing in long sleeves, light colors and shoes covering the toes, defending with approved repellent, and dumping standing water while regularly checking yards.

Recommended repellents contain DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Many dengue infections produce no symptoms, and most people who become ill recover within one or two weeks, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Severe dengue can develop in some patients, with warning signs sometimes appearing within a day or two after a fever subsides. Severe stomach pain, repeated vomiting, unusual bleeding or bruising, breathing difficulty, extreme tiredness, irritability and restlessness require immediate medical care.