Denton County Taking Zika Virus Fight Door-To-Door
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DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) - One North Texas city is getting aggressive in the fight against the Zika virus.
Firefighters in Denton went door-to-door this weekend asking permission to hand-spray near homes in a neighborhood off Buena Vista, near Teasley and Hickory Creek.
Doctor Ken Banks is the Director of Environmental Services and he said the City can't just spray off a truck, up and down the street like can be done for the West Nile virus. "The mosquito that transmits the disease [Zika] is a very weak flyer. It cannot travel very far distances and so the vast majority of mosquitos that we're going to try and control, in terms of importance, are going to be immediately around this person's home."
All but one homeowner in the area agreed to have their property hand-sprayed and Banks said that shouldn't be a problem. "I understand people not wanting us to do this and so this particular home is far enough away that it's not going to make much of a difference," he said.
The move to hand-spray came after a Denton resident, who recently traveled to Puerto Rico, tested positive for the Zika virus. It is the first known case of the virus in the city limits and the fifth case in the Denton County area.
Denton Public Safety officials will circle back and try and reach homeowners who weren't home this weekend and then begin spraying today.
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