Palm Beach County has recorded its second case of the Zika virus. It is the second travel-related case in the county, according to the Florida Department of Health.
The patient had traveled to Guyana and is not pregnant, according to the Health Department.
Local mosquito control crews said they’re being proactive to make sure mosquitos don’t bite this person and begin transmitting the virus in Florida.
Chris Reisinger is an environmental analyst with Palm Beach County Mosquito Control. He says there are no reported cases of the virus being transmitted from a mosquito to a human in the United States.
“There is really nothing to worry about,” he said. “These cases are imported from other countries.”
Starting tomorrow, crews will begin spraying and looking for mosquito breeding areas specifically in this infected person's neighborhood. Their community is not being released to the public.
Reisigner encourages everyone to be proactive by draining any standing water where mosquitos could breed in your yard.
“That’s the best way to control this. You have to control these mosquitos at the larval state when they are completely confined to standing water,” he explains.
Palm Beach County was added to the Declaration of Public Health Emergency following the first reported case last week.
Of the cases confirmed in Florida, six cases are still exhibiting symptoms, the Department of Health says.
The state recommends that women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika-affected areas.
The number for the Zika virus information hotline is 1-855-622-6735.
Breakdown of cases by county in Florida:
Alachua 4
Brevard 2
Broward 12
Clay 1
Collier 1
Hillsborough 3
Lee 3
Miami-Dade 32
Orange 5
Osceola 4
Palm Beach 2
Polk 3
Santa Rosa 1
Seminole 1
St. Johns 1
Cases involving pregnant women 5
