SAN MATEO COUNTY (KRON) — The onset of spring and warmer weather is a reminder about the importance of dumping any standing water, which could serve as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
And that includes the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. San Mateo County Vector Control’s Megan Caldwell said that the handful of confirmed cases of the Zika virus in the Bay Area have been linked not to mosquitos but rather to travel.
At the same time, Caldwell said that the Aedes aegypti mosquito capable of carrying and transmitting the Zika virus have indeed been found in the Bay Area, most-recently in Menlo Park in May of last year, where trapping and eradication efforts continue.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito can also spread dengue or yellow fever and other diseases.
Caldwell said the Zika virus is now thought to have been spread through sexual contact and the risk of contracting it from a mosquito is extremely low.