ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida health officials are reminding residents to take precautions against mosquito bites after four cases of mosquito-borne illness were reported in Orange County in a single week.

What You Need To Know

  •  Two cases of locally transmitted dengue fever have been reported in Orange County officials say

  •  Two cases of travel-related Oropouche virus, also commonly known as "sloth fever," also have been reported in Orange County

  • Preventative measures include draining anything that can hold water, applying mosquito repellent and wearing pants and long-sleeved tops

The latest mosquito-borne illness detected include two confirmed cases of Oropouche virus, which is also called “sloth fever,” officials said.

Symptoms of the virus are: headache, fever, chills, joint and muscle pain, photophobia, dizziness, eye pain, nausea and vomiting and a rash.

Health officials in Orange County say the two cases are travel-related and a major cause for concern, because Central Florida is a melting pot that see thousands of people travel in and out every day.

In a statement, Orange County Mosquito Control manager Steve Harrison said the emergence of the mosquito-borne illnesses in Central Florida "highlights the interconnectedness of global health and the potential for mosquito-borne diseases to spread to other parts of the world."

The CDC issued a health advisory about the Oropouche virus earlier this month because of a recent outbreak in countries like Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba and Peru.

Prior to the two cases of Oropouche virus, health department officials confirmed that two people living in Orange County that had tested positive for dengue fever. The virus in those cases was transmitted locally and not travel-related, they said.

Dengue fever symptoms include: Sudden high fever, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, swollen glands, nausea, vomiting and a rash.

Mosquitoes that carry the virus do not typically fly very far, Harrison said, so the community should not panic, because the mosquito control teams have targeted spraying heavily in the areas where the cases were reported. 

He said the Oropouche virus cases confirmed earlier this month were both in people returning from Cuba. 

To prevent mosquitoes from reproducing, officials suggest tipping over or tossing out and draining anything that could hold water, especially with the amount of rain that Central Florida has received over the past few days. They also encouraged people to cover themselves with long sleeves and pants, and to use EPA-approved mosquito repellent.

Officials say this is the first time dengue fever has been transmitted locally in years, and that prior to the current cases, the 24 infections that FDOH has confirmed were all contracted outside of Orange County.