Pinal County plans for Zika response
InMaricopa
Pinal County has been working for several weeks on Zika surveillance and response plans. Given the recent spread of Zika in Florida, Director of Pinal County Public Health Tom Schryer is sharing surveillance and response information with the community.
Unlike West Nile Virus, in the case of Zika, the human is the carrier so once someone is identified as having Zika it is essential that they do all they can to avoid mosquito bites since a mosquito can spread the infection to another human.
“If we have a case of Zika in Pinal County, our plans include inspecting the property of the victim and surrounding properties within 150 meters for any signs of mosquito breeding and take aggressive actions to reduce the mosquito population so anyone who has Zika does not spread the virus to a mosquito that can then pass it on to other people,” Schryer said.
Additionally, Public Health will survey the health of those residents who live within 150 meters of the impacted residence to determine if there is any community transmission. If there is any evidence of transmission, then the boundary will be expanded based on certain criteria.
