State of local emergency extended as Hillsborough County dengue cases near 400

With dengue fever cases nearing 400 in Hillsborough County, the local state of emergency has been extended through this Thursday, Nov. 5.Declaring a state of local emergency gives the county access to state resources and also provides a path for reimbursement of certain expenses. Following a rainy Halloween weekend across the Tampa Bay area, mosquito control officials are urging residents to be diligent about checking their properties and dumping out any standing water. "With these active rainstorms that are coming into the region that we've seen over the weekend, mosquitoes still love that. They still love water. They still love the humidity that we're seeing. Temperatures haven't cooled down quite yet," Hillsborough County Mosquito Management senior environmental scientist Paolo Pecora told FOX 13. "So we're asking the public just to be conscious out there."Tampa Bay area dengue fever dataAccording to the most recent data from the state health department, here’s how the Bay Area stac