PASCO COUNTY — A local organization is working to protect citizens from dengue fever.
While most people try and stay away from mosquitoes, Agne Prasauskas and the rest of the team at Pasco County’s Mosquitos Control District get very close to the critters.
“Watching them under the microscope and testing them you get used to that. But the bites I never get used to. They always find me too," said Prasauskas, who is the Research and Surveillance Director.
Right now, this department is looking for mosquitos that might be carrying dengue fever, the world’s most common mosquito-borne disease.
With about a hundred traps around Pasco County, the district says they are constantly responding to areas of need with insecticides delivered on the ground and in the air.
“As soon as we see a spike then we go and try and treat and bring those numbers down," said Prasauskas.
The district’s executive director Adriane Rogers says people are traveling to places where dengue is an endemic and bringing the virus back to Florida.
“And then our local mosquitos have the potential to then pick up the virus from those individuals traveling and then they can spread it to others here in the community," said Rogers.
Dengue is not something anyone wants to contract.
“Dengue is nicknamed breakbone fever. In more severe cases we actually have issues where you feel like your bones are breaking. It’s that severe," Rogers said.
Florida has had about 280 cases of dengue where people have caught it out of the country and brought it back. But there have been at least 16 cases in Florida where people caught it here.
“The mosquitoes that are capable of transmitting dengue live around your house. They have a preference for the containers that you discard in your yard. Things like plant trivets, 5-gallon buckets, wheelbarrows, gutters that are clogged up," said Rogers.
The experts say even though it’s hot, wearing long sleeves and long pants can keep you from those mosquito bites along with using insect repellent.
