Dengue in Florida: an operations checklist for medical practices

Florida is tracking what appears to be its largest outbreak of locally acquired dengue in decades, according to an Associated Press analysis. As of Oct. 17, the Florida Department of Health had counted 425 cases spread by Florida mosquitoes this year, most in Hillsborough County, according to the department's weekly arbovirus surveillance report. Federal testing and care guidance in this slideshow comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Practices outside the Tampa Bay area should pay attention, too. Local cases have turned up in 11 counties from Citrus to Miami-Dade, and travel-related cases continue across the state. These seven steps cover what administrators and front-office teams can do now.