Officials: Summer is coming, and so is Zika

Three months after Gov. Rick Scott stood in Miami Beach and declared that the Zika virus was no longer spreading in Florida, mosquito control experts are warning people not to be complacent. Zika could come back. “Those same risk factors that we saw in 2016 are also still present today,” said Andrea Leal, executive director of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, during a recent news conference at the Capitol.

Among the factors: The presence of Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquito that can transmit the virus and the risk of tourists or Florida residents bringing the virus with them from countries where it is more prevalent. All of it made worse by a warm winter that could have helped more mosquito eggs survive the season than usual.

Zika, which has been linked to birth defects when pregnant women are infected, has thrust an obscure layer of governmental bureaucracy — mosquito control districts — onto the front lines of a public health crisis.

Last year, Florida had 1,093 cases of Zika picked up by people traveling abroad. Another 279 were infected as Zika spread in Florida, most of that in Miami-Dade County, according to the state Department of Health.

To fight Zika this summer, mosquito control districts are asking the state for $3.8 million to pay for research and a helping hand to counties that have small antimosquito budgets.

“As you know, mosquitoes do not recognize county borders,” Leal said. “While some larger counties may have very robust mosquito control programs, smaller neighboring counties may not have similar local budgets, which can greatly reduce our overall effectiveness.”

The Legislature regularly helps fund mosquito control. This year, lawmakers put $2.6 million into it, and Scott recommended the same amount for the 2017-2018 budget year. An additional $1.2 million would help what Leal called a “very challenging mosquito season.”

The Florida Mosquito Control Association has a useful ally in state Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, who has made their case in Tallahassee. But the state’s resources are limited, making every interest group’s request for taxpayer dollars a tough sell this year.