It’s almost mosquito season in the D.C. area and Arlington County says it is “continuing to monitor” the potential danger from the Zika virus.
In a new county-produced video, Dr. Reuben Varghese, Chief of Arlington’s Public Health Division, said that there are no Zika-infected mosquitos in Arlington, but there have been travel-associated cases of Zika in the region.
Once thought to be largely harmless, Zika has now been linked to a major birth defect of the brain. Public health agencies in the U.S. are on alert as the virus spreads in South America.
Arlington County has an online “mosquito information center” that advises residents who want to protect themselves from mosquitos to drain standing water, dress in long sleeves and pants, stay indoors during dawn and dusk, and use mosquito repellent containing DEET.