(VIDEO) Health Officials Confirm First Florida Dengue Death of 2026 After Tampa Woman Dies at 80

TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health confirmed Friday that an 80-year-old Hillsborough County woman is the state's first known dengue fever death of 2026, after Gay Small died Sept. 4 at Tampa General Hospital on her birthday.

The Tampa Bay Times first reported the death about 10 days earlier, before the state finished its review. Her death certificate lists dengue infection, septic shock and multi-organ failure. Family members said she was bitten near her home on Bayshore Boulevard.

"So I guess that means the state agrees she died of dengue," her daughter, Anna Small, 55, said Thursday.

A department spokesperson told WFLA that epidemiologists had completed their investigation and did not name the patient. The Times and other outlets identified Small. Hospital officials said they do not discuss individual cases.

Anna Small told WFLA her mother had been healthy. "She was in good health and she worked hard to stay healthy and she walked and she ate right and you know, all the things that you're supposed to do," she said. "And you know, this virus just kind of comes out of nowhere. She met the wrong mosquito, and that's it."

Small had planned a Labor Day weekend in North Carolina with her sister and grandchildren. She died early Friday, Sept. 4. Her late husband, Bob Small, spent his career on dengue vaccine work for drug companies and nonprofits. The couple had traveled in Asia, South America and the South Pacific.

Hillsborough County is the center of Florida's 2026 outbreak. State tallies cited after the confirmation put locally acquired cases at 152 statewide, with 134 in Hillsborough. Pinellas and Miami-Dade each had seven in some reports. USA Today cited a Sept. 12 state figure of 153 locally acquired cases, against 62 in 2025. The CDC's broader count of dengue associated with Florida was higher when travel cases are included. Doctors at Tampa General have treated more than 100 dengue patients this season, according to coverage of hospital epidemiology remarks.

Dengue is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fever, severe muscle and joint pain — often called break-bone fever — headache, nausea, vomiting and rash. Most people recover. Severe disease can lead to shock and organ failure. There is no routine U.S. vaccine program for local transmission. Treatment is supportive.

Claire Maher, speaking for the state health department, said: "We are reminding all residents and visitors throughout the state to take precautions from mosquito-borne illnesses by appropriately applying insect repellent, avoiding areas with high mosquito populations, draining any standing water, and wearing long pants and shirts when possible — especially during sunrise and sunset, when mosquitoes are most active."

Hillsborough Mosquito Management has used trucks and helicopters. Officials tell residents to empty buckets, gutters and plant saucers. The Times, citing University of South Florida public-health instructor Kristi Miley, said a Tampa Bay dengue death had not been recorded in nearly a century.

Florida has seen large locally acquired waves before, including more than 200 cases in 2023. Health officials describe 2026 as among the worst recent years, with Hillsborough far ahead of other counties. Confirmation of a death does not change the advice: dump water, use repellent, cover skin at dawn and dusk.

Gay Small's case is now on the state ledger as the first dengue fatality of the year. The bite was local. The certificate names the virus. The department's Friday notice closed the gap between a family's account and an official count.