Florida Department of Health

I can explain how red tide can be here and not be here simultaneously. Part of it lies in how that sneaky basic component of red tide, Karenia brevis, is, along with the vernacular use of “red tide” versus the scientific meaning. And seagulls.

Small outbreaks of blue-green algae have been happening for weeks in the Caloosahatchee River

Blue-green algae has been detected for the first time this year in canals near the Midpoint Bridge into Cape Coral and the Florida Department of Health issued a warning

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a water quality advisory for the Cape Coral Yacht Club due to enterococcus bacteria.

A settlement has now been reached requiring the Florida Department of Health to release COVID-19 data withheld from the public during the height of the pandemic.The Florida Center for Government Accountability and former State Representative Carols Guillermo Smith fought for release of the data in a two-year legal battle. We take a closer look at the settlement and what release of the hidden data will mean going forward in a conversation with Smith and the Florida Center for Government Accountability’s Michael Barfield.

The largest number of locally-acquired malaria cases in the U.S. in 20 years is clustered in Sarasota County, where there have been six cases since late May.

Four months after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Southwest Florida state health officials are once again warning beachgoers to stay out of the water, but this time their alert says stay off the sand, too. Shards of debris have been washed onto beaches and lawns, and there is a spike in the number of cases of the very dangerous "flesh-eating bacteria."

As Florida medical boards continue advancing proposed rules to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth living with gender dysphoria, we explore how gender-affirming care for minors is actually carried out. We also hear the story of one local family now getting gender-affirming care for their teenage sons.

The rate of new coronavirus infections statewide is relatively unchanged from two weeks ago, but the Lee Health and Sarasota Memorial hospital systems have been reporting slight increases in hospitalized COVID-19 patients over the last couple of months. Now they’re also preparing to provide vaccinations for young children ages six months to five years old and helping raise awareness about the availability of monoclonal antibody and antiviral treatments.

Cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed by Collier County health officials and there is a heightened concern that more residents will become ill.