Zika has made its home in U.S.

Was found multiple times in
Minnesota, but the bugs hitched a ride

The Zika virus in in the U.S. now, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), meaning mosquitoes are transmitting the disease.

It’s not happening in Wisconsin. Not yet. It has been found in Minnesota, but that’s because the mosquitoes hitched a ride.

“The place they found it, the 11 times, was a tire recycling area in Savage, Minnesota,” La Cross County vector expert Dave Geske said. “And the tires were being brought in from Texas to be recycled.”

Those mosquitoes, however, won’t likely last the winter, Geske says. But, he does think it is possible they could develop a resistance to cold weather over several years.

Right now, they’ve found mosquitoes in Florida transmitting Zika – the first state to do so not from outside the country.

Wisconsin has not received federal funding yet to prevent Zika infection, probably because there’s little risk they’ll spread.