The Centers for Disease Control issued an unprecedented warning for pregnant women to avoid traveling to parks of South Florida on Monday. The virus is a growing concern in communities across the U.S.
As of Tuesday, there was only one reported case of Zika in Lubbock County. Katherine Wells, the Director of the Public Health Department, said city officials are doing everything they can to control the mosquito population in Lubbock.
“We are doing similar things that we have done in previous years. We have vector control out spraying neighborhoods checking for mosquito larva in our water system. From a public health perspective, we’re working on disease surveillance and working to identify any individuals who may have been infected with Zika,” Wells says.
Wells added that if certain criteria is met, like traveling to an infected area, the health department can test for the virus.
“In order to be tested for Zika, you would have to have traveled outside of the U.S. to a place that is identified by Zika transmission,” Wells said.
With latest events, the Miami area is now of concern.
“So if any individuals travel to Florida in the Miami area and there’s a concern they need to contact their health care provider and then we will decide if they actually were in the area of concern,” Wells said.
