Public-Health Officials Across U.S. Race to Build Defenses Against Zika Virus
With summer in full swing, public-health and mosquito-control officials are pulling out the stops to stop the Zika virus taking root and spreading in the continental U.S.
The mosquitoes that are able to spread the virus are flourishing this summer in Key West, Fla., just as they did six years ago during an outbreak of dengue—another disease they can transmit, said Michael Doyle, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. “We’re on high alert,” he said.
His team has stepped up mosquito-control activities, trapping mosquitoes, applying larvicide to breeding spots, even conducting aerial spraying to kill adult mosquitoes. That last step isn’t as effective as other measures against a pest that hides in and around homes, he admits. “But we have very few tools,” he said.
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