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A career at VISIT FLORIDA means joining a culture of unique perspectives and skill sets, all striving toward the same goal: to make Florida the No. 1 vacation destination in the world. As a workplace, VISIT FLORIDA seeks to hire curious, collaborative, best-in-class professionals and build an inclusive staff that mirrors the world we market to: diverse in background, and reflecting a broad range of life experiences and interests. We prioritize a balanced life. We market vacations for a living and collaborate strategically with tourism and media partners to share the Florida story. We also treasure our own vacations and appreciate how the world out there informs and inspires our work. VISIT FLORIDA nurtures careers and encourages lifelong learners. Continuing education experiences are an annual privilege. Our emphasis on integrated teamwork connects each of us to every aspect of our business. Our collaborations with thousands of destination, advertising, and publishing partners connect us to the world’s best tourism and marketing brands. Our work is meaningful. Tourism brightens the lives of all. Millions of visiting families and friends vacation here year after year to join the daily meditation of sand, sea, and sky. VISIT FLORIDA’s marketing powers Florida’s No. 1 economic engine, supporting jobs and the Sunshine State way of life. Are you interested in helping us promote Florida to the world? Apply for our open positions below. VISIT FLORIDA is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to hiring, developing and maintaining a diverse workforce. We offer a comprehensive medical, dental, vision and retirement package including a 401k match.

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  • Department: Visitor Services
  • Location: Jennings, FL
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E-Verify is an internet-based system operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of newly hired employees.

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VISIT FLORIDA, the state's official tourism marketing corporation, serves as Florida's official source for travel planning to visitors across the globe. VISIT FLORIDA is not a government agency, but rather a not-for-profit corporation created as a public/private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996.   Florida's tourism industry was responsible for welcoming a record-setting 140.6 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 2.3% from 2022. In 2022, Florida visitors contributed $121.5 billion to Florida's economy and supported 2 million Florida jobs. According to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, for every $1 the state invests in VISIT FLORIDA, $3.27 in state tax revenue is generated.   Each year, the Florida Legislature appropriates public funding to be allocated for tourism marketing. VISIT FLORIDA is required to match those public funds dollar-for-dollar, which is done by actively recruiting the state's tourism industry to invest as Partners through cooperative advertising campaigns, promotional programs and many other marketing ventures. VISIT FLORIDA’s public/private partnership works with tourism industry businesses across the state, including major strategic partnerships with Busch Gardens Tampa, Experience Kissimmee, LEGOLAND Florida Resort, SeaWorld Parks & Resorts Orlando, and Universal Orlando Resort.    VISIT FLORIDA facilitates tourism industry participation in domestic and international travel trade and consumer shows, as well as media missions to the top global visitor markets. VISIT FLORIDA also works closely with travel agents, tour operators, meeting and event planners, and is responsible for operating Florida's four Official Welcome Centers.   VISIT FLORIDA's corporate office is located at 101 North Monroe Street, Suite 900, Tallahassee, Florida 32301. The office can be reached at (850) 488-5607.

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The Lofts at Brownwood brings all new apartment-style living to The Villages — featuring one, two and three-bedroom open floorplans, with on-site recreation, golf car accessibility to Brownwood Paddock Square, entertainment, dining, shopping and fun! Through your monthly amenity fee, you’ll also have access to all of The Villages’ recreation, amenities and lifestyle our 55+ community offers.

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Bills on Florida vacation rentals and more still awaiting action from Gov. DeSantis

Desantis has vetoed eight bills so far, on top of thinning the state budget to $116.5 billion after striking through almost $950 million..

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has six days to either sign or veto the 18 bills left on his desk from the 2024 legislative session.

One of those bills, a measure that would cancel local regulations on vacation rentals , has Floridians biting their nails in anticipation of what the governor might decide. Other legislation allows licensed chiropractors to practice dry needling and exempts collegiate license plates from being discontinued for lack of use.

DeSantis has altogether vetoed eight bills so far , one more than last year, on top of thinning the state budget to $116.5 billion after vetoing almost $950 million.

On Tuesday evening, DeSantis vetoed a bill (SB 62) that would have let incarcerated Floridians who want to take college courses to pay in-state tuition.

"Florida's higher education system has ranked #1 in the country for nearly a decade, in part due to the state's investment in our institutions over that same period. We should not reward criminal activity by providing inmates with the same benefits as law-abiding citizens," DeSantis wrote in his veto letter.

Related coverage: Nearly 180 new Florida laws coming July 1, from big HOA changes to giant wine bottles

The 2024 bills DeSantis has yet to sign or veto

  • SB 280: Vacation Rentals – Would reserve the licensing of vacation rentals and regulation of advertising platforms to the state.
  • SB 674: United States-produced Iron and Steel in Public Works Projects – Requires any iron or steel product used in a public works project by a government entity to be from the U.S. (with exceptions).
  • SB 736: Services Provided by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or Its Agents – Revises a requirement for a rightful heir to transfer ownership of a motor vehicle or mobile home if the previous owner died and affects other rules regarding vehicle registration and license plates.
  • SB 770: Improvements to Real Property – Amends the “Property Assessed Clean Energy,” or “PACE,” program, which allows property owners to make property improvements and finance the cost through annual non-ad valorem tax assessments (i.e., not based on the value of one's property).
  • SB 1078: Public Records/Cellular Telephone Numbers Held by the Department of Financial Services – Exempts from public records inspection and copying requirements cell phone numbers voluntarily submitted to the Department of Financial Services as part of the application process for purposes of two-factor authentication of login credentials.
  • SB 1082: Housing for Legally Verified Agricultural Workers – Preempts local governments from inhibiting the construction or installation of housing for certain agricultural workers on land classified as agricultural if the housing meets certain criteria related to location and construction.
  • SB 1600: Interstate Mobility – Allows a board or the Department of Professional Regulation to provide "licensure by endorsement" for any individual who applies for it if the applicant meets certain specified criteria. That means the applicant holds a "substantially equivalent license in another state and would like to become licensed in Florida."
  • SB 7040: Ratification of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Rules Relating to Stormwater – Updates rules to increase the removal of nutrients from stormwater to protect the state’s waterways.
  • HB 91: Transportation Facility Designations – Designates the entire length of State Road A1A, from the Georgia state line to Key West, as the "Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway."
  • HB 133: Professional Licensing Requirements for Barbers and Cosmetologists – Provides a period of time when convictions, or any other adjudication, for crimes may not be grounds for denial of licensure as barber or cosmetologist (with exceptions).
  • HB 165: Sampling of Beach Waters and Public Bathing Spaces – Requires the Department of Health to adopt and enforce rules for beach water and public bathing places; issue health advisories; and require closures of beaches and bathing waters that fail to meet water quality standards.
  • HB 389: Transportation Facility Designations – Provides honorary designations of certain transportation facilities in some counties; renames a bridge in St. Lucie County as "E.C. Summerlin Family Bridge."
  • HB 403: Specialty License Plates – Exempts collegiate license plates from certain discontinuation and presale voucher requirements for specialty license plates.
  • HB 473: Cybersecurity Incident Liability – Provides that any local government that complies with cybersecurity training and protocols under current law is not liable in connection with a cybersecurity incident.
  • HB 619: Sovereign Immunity for Professional Firms – Requires that contracts with certain professional firms must provide indemnity, or protection against liability, to the Department of Transportation.
  • HB 799: Easements Affecting Real Property Owned by the Same Owner – Authorizes owner of real property to create easement, servitude, or other interest in owner's real property & providing that such easement, servitude, or other interest is valid.
  • HB 1063: Chiropractic Medicine – Authorizes chiropractic physicians to use dry needling treatments.
  • HB 1347: Consumer Finance Loans – Clarifies that a person can't engage in the business of making consumer finance loans or operate a branch of such business unless first authorized to do so under the Florida Consumer Finance Act.

Ana Goñi-Lessan , state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at  [email protected]

What is the best place to work? Here's a list of the 10 best Florida-based employers

Florida cities have topped three “best places for jobs” lists since April.

First, a suburb of Orlando took third place on CareerMinds.com’s list of the top 10 cities for those looking for a career change . A month later, in May, three Florida cities ranked on WalletHub’s list of the top 10 U.S. cities for starting a career.

And earlier this month, WalletHub released another rankings list of the best places for summer jobs in 2024, ranking three Florida cities in the top 10. 

Based on these lists, jobs are plentiful in the Sunshine State. But what Florida-based companies are the best employers?

A more recent list from U.S. News and World Report ranked the best Florida-based companies to work for. Here’s the list.

What is the best place to work in Florida?

With Florida being a hotspot for domestic tourists, it probably isn’t very surprising that four of the 10 best companies to work for in Florida are in the hotels, restaurants, travel and leisure industries.

Here are the 10 best Florida-based companies to work for, according to U.S. News and World Report’s rankings list:

  • Carnival (Miami) - Best in hotels, restaurants and leisure, ranked in top quality of pay, best companies in the south.
  • Darden (Orlando) - Darden is a family of restaurants that Includes Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, Yard House, Eddie V’s, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen and Seasons 52. Darden is ranked among the best companies in the south on U.S. News’s list.
  • FIS (Fidelity National Information Services in Jacksonville) - FIS is based in Jacksonville and employs more than 55,000 people in almost 60 countries. FIS is a globally respected technology provider for capital markets, retail banking and merchant industries.
  • L3Harris (Melbourne) - L3Harris is a defense and aerospace technology manufacturing company that provides tech for air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. L3Harris ranked in top quality of pay, best in manufacturing and among the best companies in the south.
  • MarineMax (Clearwater) - MarineMax is a recreational boat and yacht retailer, receiving best in retail and best companies in the south recognitions on U.S. News’s list.
  • PetMeds (Delray Beach) - PetMeds is an online pet pharmacy and is ranked among the best companies in the south and the best in personal care, drug and grocery stores. PetMeds also received recognition for having a top work environment.
  • Roper Technologies (Sarasota) - Roper is an IT, software and services company that provides tech for niche industries. Roper’s products include Application management software, sensor networks, campus card and cashless systems, laboratory information management solutions, network software and technology-enabled products. Roper is ranked among the best in IT, software and services and the best companies in the south.
  • SBA Communications Corporation (Boca Raton) - SBA is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure. SBA controls assets like towers, buildings, rooftops, antenna systems and other tools to support wireless carriers and digital service providers. SBA ranked among the best companies in the south and received recognition for top quality of pay.
  • Spirit Airlines (Dania Beach) - Spirit Airlines also received recognition for top quality of pay and ranked among the best companies in the south.
  • Travel + Leisure Co. (Orlando) - Travel + Leisure Co. owns Margaritaville resorts, Wyndham resorts, Sports Illustrated resorts and more. Travel +Leisure Co. received recognition for being among the best in hotels, restaurant and leisure and also ranked among the best companies in the south.

What is a normal salary in Florida?

Depending on where you live in the state and what job you have , living in Florida can be affordable. 

First-time home buyers may want to choose a different state to settle down on a budget and prices for things like groceries and insurance in Florida are some of the highest in the nation , but it isn’t all bad news.

To make ends meet in Florida, you typically don’t have to make more than the national average salary (around $59,000).

According to BankRate and MIT’s living wage calculator , a single adult with no children would need to earn a minimum of $36,848 to make ends meet in Florida. Cost of living is subjective to where you’re located in the state, though. 

For example, residents in some metropolitan areas across southeast Florida need to make $100,000 each year in order to avoid being rent burdened.

What types of jobs will AI affect the most? Florida ranks among states with the most risk

The integration of artificial intelligence in everyday life has caused waves of fear in certain industries.

While most jobs aren’t likely to become robotic , some niche jobs are actually in danger of being taken over by AI.

Digital marketing data platform (un)Common Logic conducted a study , using Bureau of Labor Statistics data and several artificial intelligence studies, to find the cities with the most workers at risk of AI job displacement and the industries where AI poses the greatest threat.

And three of the top 10 metropolitan areas with the most workers at risk of AI job displacement are in Florida.

Here’s which cities in Florida made the list, where they rank and what “AI job displacement” means.

What does AI job displacement mean?

AI job displacement refers to jobs that are being replaced by automated systems made possible through developing artificial intelligence technology.

What types of jobs will AI affect the most?

AI usually replaces jobs that involve a lot of repetitive or straightforward tasks, like data entry, proofreading, bookkeeping and telemarketing jobs.

According to (un)Common Logic’s study, these jobs are at the highest risk for AI displacement (these are not the only jobs with risk for AI displacement):

  • Budget analysts
  • Loan officers
  • Accountants
  • Insurance sales agents

According to another list of jobs most likely to be displaced by AI from Forbes , data entry and administrative roles, customer service jobs, manufacturing and assembly line jobs, retail cashiers, entry-level graphic design jobs and translation jobs are all at risk as well.

What U.S. state has the most jobs that are vulnerable to AI?

According to (un)Common Logic’s study, Florida cities count for three of the top five metropolitan areas where the most jobs are at risk from AI.

The Tampa-St.Pete metropolitan area ranks first nationwide as the city with the most jobs at risk of being displaced by artificial intelligence. The Miami metropolitan area follows close behind in second place and Jacksonville takes fourth place.

Here is the list of the top 10 U.S. metro areas where the most jobs are at risk because of AI, according to (un)Common Logic’s study:

  • Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater, Florida
  • Miami - Fort Lauderdale - West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Birmingham - Hoover, Alabama
  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Buffalo - Cheektowaga - Niagara Falls, New York
  • Austin - Round Rock, Texas
  • Kansas City, Missouri - Kansas
  • Phoenix - Mesa - Scottsdale, Arizona
  • Denver - Aurora - Lakewood, Colorado
  • New York - Newark - Jersey City, New York - New Jersey - Pennsylvania

“In five states — South Dakota, Kansas, Delaware, Florida, and New York — more than one in ten workers are vulnerable to AI-related automation, facing both high levels of AI exposure and high probabilities of automation. These states have high concentrations of workers in the knowledge sector,” the study said.

“Among major metropolitan areas with populations of one million or more, locations in Florida and New York account for four of the top five regions at greatest risk of AI job displacement.”

When it comes to state-by-state rankings, Florida ranks as the state with the fourth-most jobs in danger of being replaced by artificial intelligence in this study.

Here is the list of the top 10 U.S. states where the most jobs are at risk because of AI, according to (un)Common Logic’s study:

  • South Dakota

Florida immigrants detail their exit following DeSantis immigration law: 'I had to leave'

A worker guides a bin into position at a construction site, on Jan. 24, 2023, in Miami.

When David Guerra and his large family fled Florida in May, they left behind beds, mattresses, furniture and the construction tools they used to make a living. But it's when he thinks of his children's toys that his voice breaks.

“That is what has hurt me the most, my girls, who no longer have toys,” said Guerra, who is from El Salvador and who, until a few weeks ago, had a home, a yard and a business with his family in Tampa.

David Guerra and his family.

Their life as they knew it changed, according to Guerra, when Gov. Ron DeSantis, signed SB 1718, the immigration law that goes into effect on July 1 . The law imposes strict restrictions and penalties to deter the employment of undocumented workers in the state.

Of the 10 people who lived in the Guerra house, only three children were U.S. citizens. The others didn't have legal immigration status. They left Tampa on May 30, from the same street where, a month earlier, Guerra had seen the belongings left behind by other immigrants and joked in a popular TikTok video that he would be next.

“After a month, I had to leave," Guerra told Noticias Telemundo from Maryland, where he moved with his family.

Guerra is not the only one. In various cities across the state, such as the farming community of Immokalee, many immigrants say they have at least one acquaintance, friend or neighbor who left after the law was passed. Some have posted of their exile on social networks.

A woman carried a sign that reads: "We are working people, not criminals; we are the ones who harvest the crops; Immokalee farm workers strong" as hundreds gathered on June 1 in Immokalee, Fla., to protest state Senate Bill 1718, which restricts undocumented immigrants.

‘They don’t want us here’

Guerra, a construction worker, came to the U.S. more than 20 years ago. Together with his partner, his sister-in-law and his stepdaughter — who's a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (  DACA)  program — they worked polishing and putting the finishing touches on walls and ceilings in houses across the Tampa area.

Guerra has been in Tampa for six years, where he built a clientele and bought his tools. Leaving some of them behind when he left the state cost him more than $2,000 in losses, he said. In Maryland, neither he nor his family has been able to get a job.

"I was well, well, well situated in Florida. I was doing well financially, stable with work. There was no problem. Now it's the opposite," he said.

Some 2.7 million immigrants made up 26% of Florida’s labor force in 2018,  according to a census analysis . More than 300,000 worked in the construction sector, like Guerra and his family.

Guerra said neighbors started to leave when the Legislature first introduced the immigration bill. By the time the Legislature voted on the law and DeSantis signed it, there were no workers on one of the projects he was working on. 

“So the time came to make a decision: “I told my wife ‘no way, she’s going to have to go because they don’t want us here’”.

'Leaving your life'

Guerra packed what he had into two trucks and a car. In Maryland they live with a relative and have settled in as best they can. His two daughters, age 3 and 8, have to sleep with the adults. 

“There (in Florida) they had their little bed, in the shape of a house, their rooms and now, well imagine,” he said with sadness.

His young daughter asks to go home and cries for her toys, he said.

Nearly 100 miles from Tampa, where Guerra lived with his family, a 25-year-old undocumented immigrant rented an apartment with her boyfriend in the city of Ocala.

Maria Fernanda, whose last name has been withheld because of her immigration status, arrived with a visa four years ago from Colombia. The visa was for a temporary stay that was extended by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Florida was “one of my favorite states,” Maria Fernanda said, until she feared what could happen when the law took effect. Her boyfriend is also undocumented, and before DeSantis’ law was passed, they decided to leave for New York.

Maria Fernanda moved to New York from Florida in April.

“I said, ‘I don’t want to go through that fear or that need to see a policeman that can deport me or that they can stop me or ask me for my documents,’” Maria Fernanda said.

They left without saying goodbye to their acquaintances and left their belongings behind, but not their cats, Loki and Alicia. She documented her journey in a series of videos that she shared on TikTok. Most of the commenters, she said, have thanked her for not abandoning her pets.

“Where I go, they go, and where I have a roof, they will have a roof," she said.

Her boyfriend got a job in Delaware and she stayed in New York for work. The separation hurts; they must drive more than four hours to see each other and share the time with their cats.

“It is sad that couples, families are separated, that sometimes they abandon animals on the street because they cannot take them. They leave their things lying around, their houses abandoned," she said. "That is sad because it's leaving your life." 

Gauging the exodus

It's difficult to know the number of immigrants who have left the state. Local communities and leaders base counts on what they hear by word of mouth: a neighbor who left his house, a worker who never came to work.

“This is happening at such a fast level that we don’t have a concrete number,” Rosa Elera, of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, told Noticias Telemundo.

The Florida Policy Institute has stated the legislation could cost Florida’s economy $12.6 billion in one year. Six industries, including construction, agriculture and services, employ an estimated 391,000 undocumented workers, or about 10% of workers in those sectors.

Elera said people are frightened and confused by the law.

Even though the law hasn't yet taken effect, the Florida Immigration Coalition has already received complaints that some clinics have been asking patients about their immigration status, even though only hospitals that accept Medicaid are required to ask about immigration status, and patients may decline to answer the question, Elera said.

“Primary doctors or clinics or emergency centers that do not receive Medicaid do not have to be asking the immigration status of a patient,” she said.

Guerra said he believed the environment changed after the law was passed. “Many Americans didn’t even greet you anymore, they looked down on you, so to speak,” he said. “That was what most led me to make the decision to come to Maryland."

Fear of leaving and returning

In Immokalee, Berta, an undocumented Guatemalan mother, picks tomatoes, chiles, squash and eggplants in the searing heat. About 40,000 farmworkers, many of them undocumented, work every season harvesting a variety of fruits and vegetables. 

But for the first time in more than 18 years, Berta, 52, said she's afraid of living in the U.S.

“We are used to working here without anyone scaring us," she said. Now, “when I see police I am afraid that they will stop us, detain us and call the immigration authorities.”

Many of her acquaintances, she notes, have gone to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington.

When the harvest in Florida ends, Berta travels to other states to pick crops, but this year she wonders if she'll be able to come back.

For the first time in more than 18 years, Berta said, she's afraid of living in the U.S.

Not everyone who fears the law can flee the state. Rosa Bartolo, 22, is an asylum seeker. Although she obtained a work permit, her husband and 15 other family members who live in Florida are undocumented.

Although the Guatemalan family has thought of leaving, they're staying because they know only farming and they speak only their Indigenous language, Akateko Maya. 

Starting from scratch in another state for them “is more difficult because you don’t speak Spanish, you don’t speak English, it’s much more difficult. People see you badly, as a strange thing," she said.

'Like a rat'

When asked if he would return to Florida, Guerra said it's not in his plans, because he feels "damaged."

"It hurt, it hurt to have to throw everything out," he said. "It's a humiliation what they did, to take you out, like a rat."

In Maryland, he said, people treat him differently, better. Seven years ago he got his driver’s license in that state and in Florida, when the legislation takes effect, an undocumented immigrant won't be able to use a valid driver's license. “Thank God here you can breathe peace and tranquility,” he said.

María Fernanda is not afraid in New York. “I don’t feel that anyone who sees me and sees me as a Latina is going to stop me and say: ‘Hey, show me your documents.’ Here, where I am, I don’t feel persecuted because of my race." 

Meanwhile, Guerra takes comfort in knowing that before he left Florida he could give away some of his family's belongings to other immigrants in need. A young Cuban recently arrived in the country, he said, and took almost everything.

“’Thank God,’ (the young man) told me, ‘I was sleeping on the floor and look, now I have beds,’” Guerra said. “Starting from scratch is very sad.”

Anagilmara Vilchez is a digital journalist at Telemundo News. She covers migration issues, gender-focused stories, and breaking reports.

CDC issues health alert as dengue cases hit record high. See how many reported in Florida

Puerto rico has declared a public health emergency, with almost 1,500 cases of dengue this year.

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The Centers for Disease Control has issued a health alert over the increased risk of dengue virus infections in the United States.

Dengue fever, a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes , has been reported in 43 states — including Florida — so far this year, according to the CDC.

A total of 2,241 dengue cases in the U.S. were reported on the CDC website early Wednesday, June 26. Of those cases, 1,496 were acquired locally. The remainder were travel related.

How many cases of dengue fever have been reported in Florida?

The CDC reports there have been 197 cases of dengue in Florida in 2024. Of those, six were acquired locally, and 191 were travel related.

The majority of the dengue cases acquired in Florida were in Miami-Dade County, according to the Florida Department of Health.

In 2022, the latest data available from Florida Health Charts, there were 966 cases of dengue fever reported in Florida. Counties with dengue cases were:

  • 675: Miami-Dade
  • 77: Hillsborough
  • 57: Broward
  • 29: Palm Beach
  • 13: Collier, Orange
  • 5: Osecola, Sarasota
  • 3: Hendry, Pasco, Volusia
  • 2: Escambia, Flagler, Hernando, Manatee, Martin, Suwannee
  • 1: Bay, Brevard, Charlotte, Indian River, Lake, Leon, St. Johns, Santa Rosa

Why did the CDC issue a health alert on dengue?

The CDC said it issued the health alert to notify healthcare providers, public health authorities and the public of an increased risk of dengue virus infections in the United States in 2024.

"Global incidence of dengue in 2024 has been the highest on record for this calendar year; many countries are reporting higher-than-usual  dengue case numbers . In 2024,  countries in the Americas  have reported a record-breaking number of dengue cases, exceeding the highest number ever recorded in a single year," the CDC said.

"From Jan. 1 through June 24, 2024, countries in the Americas reported more than 9.7 million dengue cases, twice as many as in all of 2023 (4.6 million cases). In the United States, Puerto Rico has declared a public health emergency (1,498 cases) and a higher-than-expected number of dengue cases have been identified among U.S. travelers (745 cases)." 

How do people get dengue?

Dengue is a viral disease  caused by any of four related viruses, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The  dengue virus spreads from person to person  through the bite from an infected  Aedes aegypti  or  Aedes albopictus  mosquito, both of which are present in Florida , according to the Florida Department of Health.

After a female  mosquito bites a person infected with the dengue  virus, there's an incubation period of eight to 12 days. After that time, the mosquito can transmit the virus for the rest of their one-month life span, the CDC said.

Is there a treatment if you get dengue?

There are no antiviral medications approved to treat dengue , the CDC said.

Treatment is supportive, when needed.

What are the symptoms of dengue fever?

The most  common dengue symptom  is a high fever of 104 degrees, and any of the following signs:

  • Muscle, bone or joint pain
  • Pain behind the eyes
  • Swollen glands

Mild symptoms of dengue can be confused with other illnesses that cause fever, the CDC said.

Symptoms of dengue typically  last two to seven days.

Most people will recover after about a week.

When to seek emergency help if you think you have dengue

Severe dengue is a medical emergency , the CDC said. Warning signs usually begin in the 24 to 48 hours after your fever has gone away.

"About 1 in 20 people who get sick with dengue will develop severe dengue. Severe dengue can result in shock, internal bleeding, and death." A blood test is the only way to confirm the diagnosis.

"Untreated  severe dengue fever  may have a mortality rate of 10% to 20%. However, with appropriate supportive care, the mortality rate can be reduced to approximately 1%," the National Library of Medicine said.

Go to a local clinic or emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Belly pain or tenderness
  • Vomiting (at least three times in 24 hours)
  • Bleeding from the nose or gums
  • Vomiting blood, or blood in the stool
  • Feeling extremely tired or restless

Recommendations to protect yourself from mosquitoes

  • Use Environmental Protection Agency-approved repellents during travel to and after returning from areas with frequent or continuous dengue transmission.
  • Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved pants and shirts.
  • Use air conditioning and window screens when possible, to lower risk for mosquito bites indoors.
  • Dump and drain containers that hold water to reduce mosquito egg-laying sites in your home and neighborhood.
  • Seek medical care if you have a fever or have dengue symptoms and live in or traveled to an area with dengue  outbreaks  .
  • If you plan international travel to a  an area with frequent or continuous dengue transmission , protect yourself from mosquito bites during and after your trip.

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