Help fight Zika by draining off standing water

Everyone can help fend off the Zika virus, which spreads through mosquito bites but rarely causes a severe illness in adults. Pregnant women are at risk since the virus is being blamed for a birth defect that causes brain deformities in babies.

While only travel-related cases have reached Florida, the fear is that an infected individual would pass the virus on via a mosquito bite and that insect would spread Zika. South Florida is most vulnerable with its tropical climate. When daytime temperatures rise above 70 degrees, mosquitoes become more active.

Last week Gov. Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in the five counties where Zika cases have been found, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Broward and Santa Rosa. That abundance of caution is warranted since the virus has become a global health scare even though it is mostly contained in South America now.

How can Floridians help fight this scourge? Simply by draining anything outside that holds water, the mosquito's breeding ground. Old tires, buckets, tarps and even the plate under a potted plant should be emptied.

"The public really needs to help us," Manatee County Mosquito Control Director Mark Latham told Herald reporter Claire Aronson this week. "We can't do this job without the public. We can't go in cleaning up everyone's backyard."

Forewarned is forearmed. Join the battle.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Help fight Zika by draining off standing water ."