As the number of Zika infections increases in Florida, so does the possibility that the virus could start showing up in local mosquito populations.
So far, officials have said the 21 cases of Zika in Florida are travel related and sufferers were not infected stateside.
"At this point we're not seeing any Zika transmission locally. Everything that we see has been travel associated, so that means people get sick somewhere else and then travel back here," Dr. Christopher Hunter of the Orange County Health Department said.
Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs urged anyone who has traveled to places where the Zika virus is active to keep from being bitten by a mosquito in Florida.
To be safe, travelers should stay mosquito-bite free for at least two weeks, she said.
Documents: Orange County's mosquito control plan
Link: WFTV's Zika virus info page
“If we travel to any area that has a high risk, whether we feel ill when we come back, if we take an extra precaution to be very careful … then we won’t be transmitting (Zika) to our mosquito population here,” she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Zika virus can be transmitted by mosquito from one person to another for a week after the initial infection.
Health officials met with Orange County leaders Tuesday to give them an update on steps being taken to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.
Traditional mosquito control measures may not be as effective due to the cold weather and the breeding habits of the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
Normal procedures include spraying retention ponds and lakes, but mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus are more apt to breed in man-made containers like buckets, jars, gutters and bird baths, officials said.
Orange County mosquito control workers have been on the lookout for those types of breeding grounds because the mosquitoes that breed in them are the same species that carries Dengue and other viruses.
Pregnant women who contract the Zika virus can pass the virus to their unborn child, which can cause severe birth defects and miscarriages.
There is no vaccination or specific medication available for the treatment of the Zika virus.