The insect that transmits the Zika virus is known as the Aedes aegypti mosquito. And now that particular breed of mosquito has been discovered in southwest Oklahoma,reports KFOR.
The insect was found after the Oklahoma State Department of Health began a collaborative mosquito surveillance project with Oklahoma State University. Entomologists detected the mosquitoes in six different Oklahoma communities.
Though the breed is known to carry the virus, none of the insects were found to contain the disease. So far, there has been no local transmission of the virus confirmed anywhere in the United States. Health officials found a small number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in various locations in Altus, Oklahoma. Rare collections of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been found in Oklahoma County and Comanche County in previous years.