Dengue fever and other mosquito-borne illnesses surging in Florida

Mosquito bites can be more than a nuisance this summer — they can make you sick. Florida has become a hotbed for mosquito-borne diseases, reporting hundreds of cases of dengue fever, chikungunya fever, and even West Nile virus. The state leads the nation in dengue cases this year with 270 reported. Increasingly, residents aren’t just acquiring the virus while traveling abroad — they are getting bitten right at home. Mosquito control experts note that peak dengue season runs from July through September. As many as 111 people as of early September have contracted locally acquired dengue in six Florida counties...