Florida health officials confirmed the state’s first recorded dengue fever death of 2026 on Friday, marking the first locally acquired fatality in the Tampa Bay area in nearly a century. The Florida Department of Health identified the victim as Gay Small, an 80-year-old Hillsborough County resident who died on September 4 after complications from dengue infection, including septic shock and multi-organ failure.
The death follows more than 130 locally acquired dengue cases reported in Hillsborough County this year, according to the Florida Department of Health. Health authorities did not disclose additional details about the case beyond confirming Small’s residence in the county and the date of her death.
Small’s family told local media that she had likely contracted dengue years earlier while traveling abroad but was unaware of the infection. Her daughter, Anna Small, told WFLA Channel 8 that her mother had been in good health prior to her illness. “She worked hard to stay healthy—she walked, ate right, did all the things you’re supposed to do,” Anna Small said. “This virus just kind of comes out of nowhere. She met the wrong mosquito, and that’s it.”
Small’s symptoms escalated rapidly after she was bitten near her home on Bayshore Boulevard. Her family described her condition worsening in the hospital, where she experienced weakness, reddened hands, tremors, and required admission to the intensive care unit by midweek. Small’s late husband, Bob Small, had worked on dengue vaccine development, according to her daughter.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed the death after completing its investigation but did not release further details. The agency stated that dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness that can cause fever, severe aches, nausea, rash, and, in rare cases, life-threatening complications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that prior dengue infection increases the risk of severe symptoms upon re-exposure.
Hillsborough County has reported the highest number of locally acquired dengue cases in Florida this year, with health officials attributing the rise to increased mosquito activity and environmental conditions favorable to transmission. The last recorded dengue death in the Tampa Bay area occurred nearly a century ago, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times and public health experts at the University of South Florida.