Tennessee’s State Epidemiologist, Dr. Tim Jones, MD, is speaking out about the risks Tennesseans face in light of the Zika virus outbreaks in the Caribbean and South America.
According to Dr. Jones, the two species of mosquitoes which carry Zika can be found in Tennessee.
“One is the Tiger mosquito. It really likes to bite people, and we’re all familiar with it throughout the state. The second mosquito, we call it Aegypti,” explained Dr. Jones.
While both species of mosquito can transmit the virus, Dr. Jones says the only Zika cases in the United States have come from people who traveled to countries in South America or the Caribbean, where Zika outbreaks have occurred.
For now, mosquitoes in Tennessee or elsewhere in the United States are not carrying the virus.
Dr. Jones says it is possible, but unlikely, mosquitoes here will spread the disease.
He also says if someone who got the disease while traveling came back to the U.S. and was bitten by a mosquito, and then that mosquito bit someone else, the disease could spread here.
Nevertheless, Dr. Jones is urging Tennesseans (continue reading at WKRN)