TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health confirmed Friday that an 80-year-old Hillsborough County woman is the state’s first known dengue fever death of 2026, after Gay Small died Sept. 4 at Tampa General Hospital on her birthday.

The Tampa Bay Times first reported the death about 10 days earlier, before the state finished its review. Her death certificate lists dengue infection, septic shock and multi-organ failure. Family members said she was bitten near her home on Bayshore Boulevard.

“So I guess that means the state agrees she died of dengue,” her daughter, Anna Small, 55, said Thursday.

A department spokesperson told WFLA that epidemiologists had completed their investigation and did not name the patient. The Times and other outlets identified Small. Hospital officials said they do not discuss individual cases.

Anna Small told WFLA her mother had been healthy. “She was in good health and she worked hard to stay healthy and she walked and she ate right and you know, all the things that you’re supposed to do,” she said. “And you know, this virus just kind of comes out of nowhere. She met the wrong mosquito, and that’s it.”

Small had planned a Labor Day weekend in North Carolina with her sister and grandchildren. She died early Friday, Sept. 4. Her late husband, Bob Small, spent his career on dengue vaccine work for drug companies and nonprofits. The couple had traveled in Asia, South America and the South Pacific.

Hillsborough County is the center of Florida’s 2026 outbreak. State tallies cited after the confirmation put locally acquired cases at 152 statewide, with 134 in Hillsborough. Pinellas and Miami-Dade each had seven in some reports. USA Today cited a Sept. 12 state figure of 153 locally acquired cases, against 62 in 2025. The CDC’s broader count of dengue associated with Florida was higher when travel cases are included. Doctors at Tampa General have treated more than 100 dengue patients this season, according to coverage of hospital epidemiology remarks.

Dengue is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fever, severe muscle and joint pain — often called break-bone fever — headache, nausea, vomiting and rash. Most people recover. Severe disease can lead to shock and organ failure. There is no routine U.S. vaccine program for local transmission. Treatment is supportive.

Claire Maher, speaking for the state health department, said: “We are reminding all residents and visitors throughout the state to take precautions from mosquito-borne illnesses by appropriately applying insect repellent, avoiding areas with high mosquito populations, draining any standing water, and wearing long pants and shirts when possible — especially during sunrise and sunset, when mosquitoes are most active.”

Hillsborough Mosquito Management has used trucks and helicopters. Officials tell residents to empty buckets, gutters and plant saucers. The Times, citing University of South Florida public-health instructor Kristi Miley, said a Tampa Bay dengue death had not been recorded in nearly a century.

Florida has seen large locally acquired waves before, including more than 200 cases in 2023. Health officials describe 2026 as among the worst recent years, with Hillsborough far ahead of other counties. Confirmation of a death does not change the advice: dump water, use repellent, cover skin at dawn and dusk.

Gay Small’s case is now on the state ledger as the first dengue fatality of the year. The bite was local. The certificate names the virus. The department’s Friday notice closed the gap between a family’s account and an official count.

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“Broad-based strength across the portfolio more than offset headwinds from positioning and stock selection within Financials.” – Earnest Partners LLC

Market in Review

The U.S. small- and mid-cap equity market, as represented by the Russell 2500® Value Index (“Index”), returned 18.5% during

As the domestic equity market saw broad-based pressure in August, only two mutual fund themes – IPO and defence remained in positive territory among the 23 themes, whereas auto and railways were the biggest laggards, according to a report by Vallum Capital,

IPO and defence themes gained 2.2% and 1.4%, respectively and at the other end, auto and railways were the biggest laggards, falling 6.5% and 6.4%, while Technology declined 6.1%. The IPO and defence sector based funds received an inflow of Rs 37 crore and Rs 235 crore respectively in August.

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While auto and railway sector based funds received an inflow of Rs 244 crore and Rs 22 crore respectively, tech sector based funds saw an outflow of Rs 523 crore.

The report highlighted that the divergence within sectors was particularly sharp. Internet & Digital gained 3.2%, while the IT Index fell 9.1%, pointing to a significant difference in how investors are positioning within technology rather than a broad sector-wide move.

Consumption theme was down 4.5% and saw an outflow of Rs 357 crore.Healthcare and business cycle themes were down 0.8% and 1.5% respectively.
The energy sector was down 1.8% and received an inflow of Rs 18 crore whereas commodities theme was down 1.6%.

How other asset classes performed

The domestic market turned distinctly risk-off, with equity falling 2.1% in August, while money market assets were the only major asset class to deliver a positive monthly return at 0.5%.

Commodities declined 0.5% during the month but remained the strongest performer on a year-to-date basis, returning 12%, nearly nine times equity’s 1.4% YTD return. Fixed income was flat for the month and delivered a 3.7% YTD return.

The shift towards safety was also visible in fund flows. Equity fund inflows fell from Rs 45,325 crore in July to Rs 31,326 crore in August, a decline of nearly Rs 14,000 crore in a single month.

Money market inflows also moderated sharply from Rs 1,46,677 crore to Rs 43,407 crore, while fixed income moved from Rs 6,212 crore of inflows in July to Rs 1,468 crore of outflows in August.

Commodities, however, saw inflows rise from Rs 4,081 crore to Rs 4,800 crore, suggesting that investors continued to seek exposure to the commodity theme despite its marginal monthly decline.

The market also showed a clear preference for smaller companies. Micro-Cap gained 2.6% while Small-Cap was marginally positive, even as Large-Cap fell 4.1%.

This suggests that the weakness was not uniform across market capitalisation and that selectivity remained important.

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The broader regime therefore remains one of domestic equity pressure, selective strength in smaller companies and momentum-led pockets, while traditional defensive labels have struggled.

Globally, commodities and Latin American markets stood out, with Brazil gaining 9.9% and Global-Commodity rising 8.8%, while Korean ETFs saw some of the sharpest declines.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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California entrepreneur Eric Schiffer warned that the state’s proposed billionaire wealth tax could drive some of its most successful business leaders out of California, predicting a “giant sucking sound” of entrepreneurs heading for the exits if voters approve the measure.

Schiffer, chairman of family office Patriarch and CEO of Reputation Management Consultants, told FOX Business that he works with several billionaire clients, including some in California, and said many are unhappy about the proposal.

“I think the impact of this passing in California is a giant sucking sound of all of these entrepreneurs being sucked out of California because they’re just not going to want to stay,” Schiffer said.

“Why would anyone stay if they have spent their life building wealth that they were already taxed on?” he continued.

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“You’re going to see some of the most brilliant, most successful men and women that have been the cornerstone of tax revenue and donational revenue and leading companies that are employing fleets of individuals and scores of individuals, they’re going to say, ‘No mas, I’m out. Goodbye,’ because they don’t feel respected or appreciated and they feel under attack,” Schiffer said.

Proposition 40, which is on the Nov. 3 ballot in California, would impose a one-time tax equal to 5% of net worth on billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026.

The tax would be due in 2027, although payments could be spread over five years at an additional cost. Real estate, pensions and retirement accounts generally would be excluded from the tax.

The measure has been endorsed by the California Democratic Party, while some notable leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have expressed opposition. California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton has also warned that the billionaire tax would further strain the state’s economy.

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Schiffer argued that the tax could also affect Californians without billion-dollar fortunes, saying the consequences could reach their workplaces and economic opportunities.

“I think some of the consequences, if you’re a working individual in California, is there’s going to be less opportunity,” Schiffer said.

He argued that if entrepreneurs relocate, the state could lose businesses, jobs, investment and tax revenue.

“If you think California, when you have all these billionaires bolt, isn’t gonna hurt and isn’t going to create problems and isn’t going to reduce tax revenue and reduce jobs, boy, you’re smoking some of the stuff that they’re selling in California in some of these stores,” he said.

Schiffer also argued that the state could eventually seek to impose similar taxes on people with smaller fortunes.

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“If they’re going after billionaires, then the next thing is they’re going after you if you’re worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.

California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office said “some billionaires” may decide to leave the state in response to the tax, taking with them the income tax revenue they currently generate.

The LAO estimates those and other behavioral responses could reduce state income tax revenue by less than $1 billion per year. At the same time, it estimates the wealth tax would temporarily generate tens of billions of dollars over several years.

FOX Business asked Schiffer directly whether he would leave California if the policy eventually expanded beyond billionaires.

“If it got to the point where they’re talking about people that may be worth more than a couple hundred million dollars in that range, California, unfortunately, would be in my rearview mirror,” Schiffer said.

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Billionaire Mark Cuban has separately argued that billionaire founders can be “cash poor, stock rich” because much of their net worth can consist of company shares rather than cash available to pay a wealth tax.

Schiffer made a similar point, saying some billionaires hold much of their wealth in stock, including shares of private companies.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., one of the proponents of the wealth tax, has previously argued that the levy would help preserve health care for working-class Californians. He also said the “Sacramento establishment” and lobbyists opposing the measure were “blatantly out of touch.”

Schiffer argued that the larger question is what the proposal tells people trying to build companies and accumulate wealth in California.

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“You’re changing the contract that America has sent to entrepreneurs,” he said. “And you’re saying, this isn’t a good place to do business.”

“What we don’t want to ever do is to lose the immense power and immense creative engines that the greatest entrepreneurs in the world continue to generate on behalf of the United States of America,” Schiffer added.