A case of locally transmitted dengue fever has been confirmed in Hillsborough County, and experts say it was likely caused by a mosquito bite.

Now, county health and mosquito control officials are urging people to take precautions to help avoid being bitten.

Officials said the dengue virus was likely brought into the state by someone infected who had returned from traveling out of the country. Once that person was bit by a mosquito locally, it would then become a carrier of the virus and capable of infecting someone else.

According to the Florida Department of Health, this is the eighth locally transmitted case of dengue fever in the state this year. There have been six cases reported in Miami-Dade County and one in Pasco County. 

Officials with Hillsborough County Mosquito Management Services said they are spraying in the area where the case was reported. The department also has 11 field crew members who monitor known areas of standing water daily and spray in those locations when there is an uptick in mosquito larvae.

Officials say the public can also help by removing standing water from property.

“That’s why we ask the public to go outside — go look around your homes and businesses for anything that’s holding water that doesn’t need to,” said Mosquito Management Services director David Fiess. “Just dump it out and get rid of those containers.”

According to the World Health Organization, most people who get dengue will not have symptoms. But for those who do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea and rash.