Mosquito control personnel paying close attention to tropical system near Florida

As a tropical system makes its way closer to Florida, state health officials and mosquito control are paying close attention.

There’s a case of West Nile in Duval County, and concerns over Zika as the disease continues to spread.

Action News Jax spoke with Christopher Bibbs with Anastasia Mosquito Control.

He said there’s no danger of the winds transporting infected mosquitoes across the state.

“In the event of high winds, they won’t blow away, but they’ll go low to the ground so they can escape the really strong part of the wind, and then go for refuge,” said Bibbs.

What is a concern is the additional rain that can be brought with he storms.

“The storm moves through, dumps a lot of rain, and all this stuff is collecting water, and that’s where that mosquito likes to breed,” said Bibbs.

The CDC is sending another shipment of Zika lab tests to Florida.

That gives Florida the ability to conduct 6,300 Zika antibody tests.

Bibbs said mosquitoes only need an inch of water to breed in, so we need to be event more vigilant and protect ourselves when storms come our way.

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