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Health Officials In Montgomery County Gear Up For Mosquito Season

By Jim Melwert

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Health officials in Montgomery County are getting ready for mosquito season.

And, this year, the concern isn't just that the pests might spread West Nile, but also the possibility they could carry the Zika virus. There have been two confirmed cases of Zika virus in Montgomery, both travel associated.

"But the bigger question is will we have locally acquired mosquito cases in Montgomery County?"

Steve Gerloff with Montgomery County Health Department says they've detected a species of mosquito that could carry Zika virus in the county, so as he puts it, the ingredients for an outbreak are here, it's a question of if they intermix:

"It is a possibility unfortunately that we could have this in Montgomery County so we need to be prepared for it."

Zika is a mild viral infection, but could cause complications in pregnancies. County commissioner Val Arkoosh stresses any outside container that holds standing water needs to be dumped every five days to help prevent mosquito breeding grounds.

"Fighting this mosquito will take everyone in our community to participate."

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