9.29.26 Board of County Commissioners Special Meeting

Hello, good afternoon, commissioners. Thank you for calling today's meeting, and I appreciate your support. I am Charing Chidikome, a medical officer with the Pasco County Department of Health. Good morning. Good afternoon. Sorry, we were very busy. My name is Adrian Rogers. I am the executive director of the Pasco County Mosquito Control District. So, we just want to give you a quick overview. So, dengue is a common disease transmitted by mosquitoes . We usually deal with dengue fever cases every year. Dengue usually occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. It is endemic in over 100 countries around the world. So, essentially, there are millions of cases every year in the world . There are usually four serotypes of dengue. Today we are looking specifically at dengue-2 in our region. And while most cases have flu-like symptoms , there are a small number of cases that can become severe. So, when considering the transmission cycle, it is important to note that dengue is not transmitted from one person to another. Therefore, if someone is sick, they cannot pass it on to another person. This is an infection carried by mosquitoes. So, essentially, the individual must exhibit symptoms. If a mosquito bites such a person, it becomes infected and can then infect others. That is, it is not transmitted from person to person, but from mosquito to person. Typically, we deal with travel-related cases at the health department every year , but right now we are focused on local cases occurring in our county and region. So I'll turn it over to Adrian to talk a little bit about mosquitoes. Good. Thank you, Ms. Chiticon. The

main mosquito responsible for transmitting the dengue virus is Aedes aegypti. This species of mosquito has adapted extremely well to living near humans . He doesn't need a lake, pond, or large body of water. It can grow in flower pots, in yards, in buckets, children's toys left out in the rain, in pet bowls, clogged drains, pool covers—anywhere a small amount of water can collect. Something as small as this bottle cap is big enough to grow hundreds of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes . This mosquito. Their breeding grounds are spread throughout our built-up communities in the Greater Tampa Bay region. This means that proper mosquito control measures are required, and it is an extremely time-consuming process. When we learn of a person being investigated for dengue, we don't just add that address to the list for insecticide spraying. We look at many different factors. We are exploring the surrounding area. We review the mosquito monitoring data that comes to us. We need to find out where the mosquitoes are breeding . We need to reduce the sources of reproduction, which means physically going out and pouring water out of all the containers in people's yards. We need larval treatment to kill mosquitoes at the larval stage. We need control of adult mosquitoes. And then we have to check whether these measures are effective. And we need to do this constantly. This takes time. This requires people. This requires licensed mosquito control professionals. This requires equipment, tools, and, again , repeated efforts. So, oh, let's give Ms.

Chitone a chance to talk about the incubation period for mosquitoes and humans. As I said before, when an infected mosquito bites a person, it usually takes three days to two weeks before symptoms appear. Indeed, symptoms begin with a high fever and body aches. Dengue fever is called "breakbone fever." Therefore, there is aching in the body , severe pain in the muscles and joints. But only a small percentage of people develop symptoms. There is no cure for it. Essentially, it's just rest, drinking fluids, and seeing a doctor if symptoms worsen. So really, we just have to wait it out. Um, however, I want to point out, as I said before, that out of four infected people, 75% of the time, there are no symptoms at all . So, in 60–80% of cases there are no symptoms, and in 20–40% there are. These people may experience very mild symptoms. For example, flu- like fever, body aches, and they may never get tested. So with dengue, most people have mild symptoms. There is a small percentage, 5% or less, who develop severe dengue. These are people who are in a high- risk group. Those who may have had dengue before without knowing it, and got sick again. Babies—due to their immunity and young age. People aged 65 and older, those with chronic medical conditions, and pregnant women—these people are at higher risk of severe dengue, although the survival rate is actually quite high, 99–99.5% . However, there is a small percentage of cases that can become

fatal. So, we are now seeing an increase in cases in the Tampa Bay area. This is the largest number of local cases in our region in recent decades. Therefore, it is crucial to take preventive measures now to reduce the mosquito population. We are spreading the word about this. Some of the things we can do, and we're spreading this message with your help and the help of your team, and through our partnerships, are drying out, covering up, and protecting people from mosquitoes with repellents . Make sure the repellent you use is EPA approved. If you are using a repellent for children, make sure it is suitable for small and young children. And Adrian can tell you a little more about other means of prevention. Thank you. The mosquito control service cannot handle this alone. We have a call to action for each of our residents and everyone in this room. We at Mosquito Control can treat thousands of acres. We can get our helicopters up in the air . We can use our trucks in the areas. We can monitor, but we can't monitor every water tank on every private property in Pasco County. Every homeowner, landlord, business owner and property manager plays a role in fighting dengue here and throughout the Tampa Bay region. And I ask people to inspect their properties, not just once, but constantly, every few days. Pour out the water, drain, clean, turn the containers over , cover them so they cannot

accumulate water. Inspect your homes and businesses after it rains. Look under the awnings. Look under the sheds. Inspect flower pots and all objects around where water may accumulate, and protect yourself from mosquito bites. And this is not something we want you to do only at night. Traditionally, protection against mosquitoes is needed during the times when they are most active—at dawn and dusk. This type of mosquito is very capable and very aggressive, it bites even during the day. Therefore, we ask that you take these preventive measures even during the middle of the day. This is one of the most important things our community can do to reduce the number of mosquitoes that can carry dengue. We also need to realize that mosquitoes, or more specifically this particular species of mosquito, do not respect county boundaries. People also don't pay attention to district boundaries. And what happens in Hillsborough County affects Pasco County. What happens in Pasco County affects Pinellas County. We are all very interconnected. Thousands of people travel through our region between different counties every day for work, vacation, school, hospitals, or business. And that's why I think the actions taken by the Pasco County Board of Commissioners last week were so important. And the Council acted proactively. As Director Foster said, this is a problem bigger than any single agency. This is a larger problem than one district or one mosquito control district. And this is not a normal reaction to mosquito control. We are responding at the regional level,

and that is exactly what the situation requires. We still have a small number of confirmed cases at this time. But we continue to work very closely with our health partners, coordinating our surveillance and control efforts. Since this began six weeks ago, Pasco County Mosquito Control has significantly increased our monitoring and control efforts. We have expanded mosquito surveillance, our testing capabilities, and the assessment of Aedes aegypti mosquito populations and habitats. We have expanded our larval control efforts, targeting mosquitoes at their developmental stage, which helps break the life cycle and transmission cycle of the dengue virus, by applying liquid larvicides over large areas from both the ground and the air. We have increased targeted adult mosquito control efforts and continued site-level responses. Over the past four weeks, in addition to what we are doing here in Pasco County, we have also been responding regionally, including providing specialized air support for grub control to assist Hillsborough County. Our treatment decisions are not based on whether someone asks us to spray. We base these decisions on where mosquitoes are found , where they breed, where disease activity is likely, what surveillance data suggests, and what treatment method is most appropriate for that mosquito species in specific locations. We use a comprehensive approach to mosquito population management. There is no one-size- fits-all method for solving this problem. The local declaration gives Pasco County

the ability to act very quickly and help coordinate the response during this outbreak, but our needs are growing faster than the Pasco Mosquito Control District's available resources. We are currently working with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as other state partners, to bring in the additional personnel, equipment, aviation, mosquito control, surveillance resources, and funding we need to maintain and expand our response. One of our most urgent needs is additional staff to conduct so- called "house rounds," during which teams of two people personally visit communities, neighborhoods, and areas of special concern. We strive to identify and eliminate water containers in people's yards, inform residents, document areas that require additional treatment, and mark them for further application of mosquito control products by our licensed and trained staff. We have also made it clear to our partners at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that response efforts require statewide coordination and resources. We have been working closely with them for the last 48 hours to identify specific needs not only for Pasco County, but for the entire tri-county region. Our goal is to provide the resources necessary to match the scale and intensity of the epidemiological and entomological situation. So, to sum up , I would like to emphasize three key points. The Pasco County Mosquito Control Department is actively responding to the dengue fever situation that has been developing over the past six weeks in the Tampa Bay area. This is a

regional health problem, and we , Pasco County, cannot solve it alone. We need to collaborate with both our regional and state partners. And lastly : every resident plays a role in this process. So we urge everyone to get involved and help us in this endeavor. One more moment and we'll move on to your questions. Yes, a few more things. Regarding the current situation: According to data from last week in the Tampa Bay region, 170 cases were recorded in Hillsborough County . Pinellas County has seven, Pasco has two, and all three counties have numerous preliminary positive results . After the declaration of a state of emergency, many health workers began testing for dengue, which significantly strengthened our response and handling efforts. Therefore, we are conducting active outreach work with medical professionals in this area. The key takeaway from the public health side: This is the largest outbreak of a mosquito-borne disease we have seen in decades. According to forecasts, we will need several more months of work to respond to this situation. At least until November or early December, our efforts to bring the situation under control will continue, and I want to return to the issue of asymptomatic carriers . Although asymptomatic individuals do not currently show symptoms of the disease , there is a risk that the emergence of a new strain among the four known types could become a serious problem for the population in the future. So, right now we are working with the mosquito control service, doing yard rounds. We

are trying to strengthen educational work in this direction. We are improving the communication between healthcare professionals , ensuring timely communication and reminding people to report such cases to us so that we can take appropriate action in a timely manner. Thank you for considering this emergency situation and assisting us in this matter. Thank you for listening to us today. Thank you, Mr. Oakley. Yes, sir. This question may not be exactly for you, but for Mr. FA, but the facts are as follows: tires are one of the sources where water accumulates. In rural areas , when people remove an old or damaged tire, they simply throw it under a tree or set it aside. Would it help us if we allowed such car tires to be handed over to waste management services for free for a certain period of time? Or I invite Kevin Pelissa here. He will answer this question. We are planning to implement such a program, right? He has all the details. Good. Thank you. Good afternoon, Kevin, Director of the Solid Waste Department. Yes, we work together with Andy and the team. We are organizing a kind of amnesty so that people can drop off more tires at our collection points, and we are also expanding the areas for their collection. This is the minimum we will do. This is what we are now committing to. You are absolutely right. So , we see this during community territory cleaning. We collect a lot of tires, and thanks to this amnesty, they can be dropped off for free. We hope for better results. Yes. OK. Thank you. Commissioner Jagger, do you have anything to add? No, I just wanted to

thank Trainee and her team. On Thursday, the Health Department was in Moon Lake, they were doing outreach to residents, handing out repellents and special supplies, and there were about 216 people there. People really appreciate this knowledge and your visit. So thank you. Ken J. Regarding the duration of this emergency, you mentioned November or December. Is it because the temperature drops at this point and the mosquitoes die, or is there something so magical about November-December that it has to stop? Thank you for your question. Well, here in central Florida, we have Aedes aegypti populations year-round. For example, two years ago we had a local case of dengue in January. So while temperature definitely affects mosquito reproduction, it is also affected by the amount of precipitation. And reducing both of these factors slows down what we're seeing in terms of overall mosquito numbers. However, they don't just die out for the winter in our region. They remain during the winter months, but we usually see a seasonal decline in their population. Approximately from December to January and into February, as these are the colder and drier months. But the probability and very real risk of continued transmission of the infection after this period remain very high. So while the CDC predicts that the situation may subside around this time, that doesn't mean the problem will be completely resolved, it's just an estimate. So right now we are doing everything we can to keep the mosquito population low here in Pasco County. Our regional partners are doing the same in their respective

areas. But what happens in Hillsboro and Pinellas affects us because of the interconnectedness of our communities. Therefore, the best thing we can do together is to reduce mosquito populations as much as possible to eliminate or reduce the risk of further disease transmission. Thank you. Thank you for your question. Are there any more questions? I have a couple of questions. So, people who are asymptomatic, if they are bitten a second time by a mosquito, will they be more likely to develop symptoms, or will they remain asymptomatic? If a person is infected with dengue for the first time and the disease is asymptomatic, it all depends on the type of virus; If a new type appears , that's when it becomes problematic and dangerous. Therefore, people who were previously asymptomatic may develop symptoms during a second infection. Yes. A new, more advanced strain. There are currently four strains, and it all depends on which region it comes from. But, in fact, if a person is re-infected , it becomes a serious threat to their health. So, right now we have a bunch of people who are probably asymptomatic, and the problem will become relevant in a year, maybe two, if a new strain gets into our community —that's when it becomes a problem. Thank you. Next question. Uh , for Mr. Rogers. Uh, regarding your people working on the ground, how many people do you need, and could volunteers from various environmental groups, road cleaning crews help ? Uh, could they potentially help, uh, with the laborious part, the house-to-house , uh, all the work that goes into that part of the process. Yes. So, uh, right now, with the number of

cases that we're actively working on and that are coming in from the Department of Health, because as Ms. Chitone mentioned, while we have three confirmed cases, uh, we have additional cases that we're investigating. Uh , so right now we're responding to each of these suspicious cases. Uh, and as these numbers continue to grow , uh, we're going to need more staff. Uh, TR committed, uh, a few members of her team were at our facility yesterday to get trained on how to do this. So it's very easy to expand. We could potentially bring in, uh, volunteers from some of the organizations you mentioned. Uh, but if we had a group of 30 people who could be brought in, uh, as needed, since they certainly won't be able to dedicate every day of the week to participating in the response, uh, that would be a sufficient level for now. Uh, of course, if we see the situation, uh, deteriorate dramatically, like it did in Hillsborough, we might have to revise that number. But, uh, if we could recruit about 30 people to work in these teams of two, that would be very helpful in assisting our efforts in responding to the current number of cases. Very good. I had one more question, but wait. So, we have an El Niño coming, right? So the winter will be warmer and wetter. He said it confidently. Uh-huh. Do you expect this to help, that this will increase the duration of the problem, or that it could literally drown out some of these challenges, or is there any data on that ? Unfortunately, the idea that

it will sink them, uh, is not something we, uh, are counting on right now. Uh , mosquitoes need warm temperatures and rain. So, the milder our winters and the more precipitation we receive during the winter months, the longer mosquito populations will remain high until it gets warmer and drier, when we can see a seasonal decline in their numbers. So unfortunately, if we have more rain and higher temperatures during the winter months, we could potentially have such a large mosquito population that the threat of disease will remain very real. Thank you. And regarding Commissioner O's question about tires: do we have a start date for when the county will potentially start accepting abandoned tires in our county? This is due to be announced later today, according to the solid waste service. Okay, it's the district's turn. Are the cases in Hillsborough spread across the county, or are there parts of Hillsborough County that are seeing more activity than others? And, perhaps in addition to that: are there parts of Hillsborough County that our residents should avoid traveling to due to this epidemic? Cases of the disease in Hillsborough County are fairly common throughout the county. There is a large area in the city center where a number of cases have been recorded and mosquito vectors have been found , but it is not limited to this general area around the city of Tampa. That is, it goes beyond the city limits themselves. At the moment, this is a fairly widespread phenomenon. Therefore, we strongly recommend that anyone spending time outdoors in

Hillsborough County, as well as here in Pasco and throughout the Tampa Bay region , take the necessary precautions and protect themselves from mosquito bites. Use an EPA-approved repellent that contains DEET or picaridin as the active ingredient. They will provide truly reliable protection for exposed skin areas. Wear long, loose-fitting shirts, long pants, shoes, and socks. Again , this mosquito is very active during the day . Therefore, even in the heat of the day, you need to take these necessary precautions to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Do the council members have any more questions ? District Administrator ? No, no questions. But I would just like to add that the next item on our agenda, Mr. Chairman, is the ratification of the decision that we adopted and that you signed last week regarding the local state of emergency. So we want the council to ratify this decision and extend the local state of emergency for another seven days. Future extensions will be made in accordance with the rules set forth in this resolution. This is usually passed on to the county administrator, who I will work with through emergency management to manage this as much as necessary to support the fight that is going on here. So I'm just asking the secretary to read it out by title, if possible, and then have a vote of the board if that's the wish of the board. Item number two, Madam Secretary. Resolution No. 26-407, a resolution of the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County,

Florida, declaring a state of local emergency due to the mosquito-borne disease known as dengue fever. The resolution was adopted on September 23, 2026. I propose to approve. I have a suggestion. I have support. I support. We have an offer and support. Those in favor, say "yes." By. Who is against? I don't see any. Thank you very much. The point is accepted. Um, thank you both so much for your work, the diligence and due diligence you have shown, and the proactive steps you have taken to help educate not only this council but the public and the county team on what we need to do to protect our citizens and how to combat mosquitoes. I also want to acknowledge Commissioner Evans, Mosquito Control District, and Commissioner Cox; thank you both for being here and for your leadership in addressing this exciting challenge in our region. This is truly a team effort across all jurisdictions, and we cannot express enough gratitude for your communication, your tenacity, your diligence, and your fight against these insects. So, if there are no more questions, we will close the meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Good. Thank you. The meeting is closed. Yes. Don't run.