Orange County issued a public health alert Friday morning for dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, after the Florida Department of Health confirmed two new, locally acquired cases in Apopka.
The first case was confirmed in Orange County in the Pine Hills area on Sept. 2. The illness is not contagious, according to the Cleveland Clinic. However, pregnant people may pass it along to their baby during pregnancy or childbirth.
Dengue fever, also known as breakbone fever, is primarily transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. Although it can be painful, it is rarely fatal. Symptoms may include high fever, muscle and joint pain, pain behind the eyes, nausea and vomiting, skin rash, swollen glands and severe headache…