04/20/17  Water In A Bottle Cap Can Proliferate Mosquitoes

The mosquito season is upon us, and that means we need to know how to protect ourselves from mosquito bites, and most importantly from contracting the Zika virus.

On KQ-102.3's  "South Arkansas Today",  Dallas County Health Unit Administrator Donna Ferguson talked about the number of cases of the virus that's been reported in Dallas County and in the state.

Ferguson says the Zika virus spreads to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito.

Many people infected with Zika won't have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms. The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain or red eyes. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the hospital and they rarely die of Zika.

The most concern is for pregnant women to catch the virus and pass it along to their unborn child, sometimes causing birth defects. For complete information you can go to the CDC health website or call or stop by your local health department.