The state Department of Health Services says there will be monitoring done this summer to watch for the possible arrival of the Zika virus in Wisconsin.
DHS epidemiologist Diep Hoang Johnson says UW-Madison entomologists will work with local health officials to set out traps, which will collect mosquito eggs. Those eggs will then be hatched and analyzed to check for the breeds of the insect known to carry the virus.
Zika shares many of symptoms of the West Nile Virus, such as headaches and fevers, but it also poses a risk to pregnant women who can pass it to their fetus. It’s been linked to a medical condition that causes infants to be born with smaller heads and sometimes results in problems with brain development.
Cases of the Zika virus have already been reported in multiple neighboring states.
