Key West The Newspaper

At its Wednesday meeting, the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners approved an interlocal agreement with the Monroe County Mosquito Control District to provide County employees to supplement the District’s workforce on a temporary, as needed basis, in the event that the Zika virus becomes a problem in the county.

Presently, the Florida Keys continues to have no confirmed cases of locally acquired Zika and only one confirmed travel-related case, in which the person contracted it outside of Florida.

But to help keep Zika from becoming a problem to the public health and economy of the Keys, Monroe County is leading a collaborative effort of the Keys municipalities and other partners to provide support to the Florida Department of Health of Monroe County and the Florida Keys Mosquito Control. Those two agencies have been working for months to keep Zika out of the Keys.

Monroe County, in collaboration with the health department and mosquito control, also has just launched a new website: ZapZika.net.

The website for Monroe County residents and visitors provides one-stop shopping for information, updates, videos and prevention tips about Zika, which causes severe birth defects.