Maricopa County will soon be able to test local mosquitoes for Dengue Fever. The Maricopa County Environmental Services department already tests area mosquitoes for diseases like West Nile and St. Louis Encephalitis, but officials hope to bring this test and a test for the Zika virus online within the next few days.
"These tests to the mosquitoes allows us to hopefully be ahead of the game in case any mosquito becomes infected with those viruses," said Johnny Diloné, an agency spokesman. "Then we can identify those mosquitoes and those areas and treat as needed to prevent any outbreak."
Diloné said the tests are just a precaution. So far there have been no locally-acquired cases of these diseases in the county.
