Dallas County Announces Ability to Test for Zika Virus

February 26, 2016

Dallas County Announces Ability to Test for Zika Virus This just in: Dallas County can now perform a test to detect the Zika virus. The Dallas County Health and Human Services Department recently announced that they are able to perform tests on their own, without having to send samples off to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for processing. This will significantly cut back on the wait time for results, which can take weeks when handled by the CDC. This news will certainly be pleasing to Dallas residents, particularly pregnant women who have traveled to areas with known Zia transmission because of its suspected link to birth defects in babies. You may also remember that recently, the first local, or person-to-person, transmission of the Zika virus was reported in Dallas. Officials in North Texas have also set up a Zika task force in an effort to stay ahead of the problem and keep the Zika-carrying mosquito at bay, particularly during the mosquito "high-season" which runs from around May through October. What do you think about this news? Do you think we will see more states developing tests for the Zika virus so they don't have to rely on the CDC? We will be staying up to date on this topic and encourage anyone with concerns about mosquitoes to check out our mosquito control services.