Warm states like Florida are stepping up their spraying and education programs in the face of the possible spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus to the United States.
Only one case of Zika appears to have been transmitted within the United States, and that one was transmitted sexually, but public health officials are bracing for warmer weather when the number of mosquitoes rises.
The two species of mosquitoes that carry Zika, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, are common in Florida and in states along the Gulf of Mexico.
Several counties in Florida have ramped up insecticide spraying programs. Flroida's Hillsborough County has workers spraying, monitoring mosquito populations, and misting in the area of the home of someone who had Zika, according to a county official.
In Pinellas County, FL, there are plans to launch education programs. People will be told to remove standing water where mosquitoes breed from yards. The county is also considering expanding its spraying programs to use sprays that specifically target the Aedes mosquitoes that transmit Zika.
Texas is asking healthcare providers to monitor its 8 cases of Zika. Dallas County already has robust anti-mosquito programs in place and Houston is stepping up mosquito control education.
Northern states are keeping to their normal mosquito control programs as yet. Cases of Zika have occurred in travelers returning home to Minnesota, New York, and Illinois after contracting the virus, but it is thought to be unlikely that mosquitoes will spread the virus in winter in those areas.
As yet, no national guidelines for preventing Zika have been put into place. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a national program. Until then, the agency is using guidelines it developed for combating chikungunya, a virus closely related to Zika that is carried by the same types of mosquitoes.
The CDC recommends keeping skin covered with clothing and insect repellant, covering open windows with screens, and staying in air conditioning. The insecticides for Zika-carrying mosquitoes are the same as those for other mosquitoes, officials said.
However, the CDC is also recommending that women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant put off traveling countries with Zika outbreaks because of the probably link to a birth defect called microcephaly.