PIERRE, SD (KELO-AM) - State Epidemiologist Lon Kightlinger announced the first identification of the Zika virus in South Dakota. The case was documented in a woman that had recently visited the Caribbean area. Kightlinger says there's a bigger threat in South Dakota....that of the West Nile Virus. He added there's already 52 cases of the mosquito-spread West Nile illness in the state, and the season for spreading the vector is far from over. He says the threat is going to be around until the first hard freeze.
Kightlinger says the mosquitoes found in South Dakota aren't known to transmit Zika.
The Department of Health is closely monitoring the Zika transmission cases from travelers. It's urging people to minimize risk of infection by using repellants with DEET, wearing long pants and shirts and avoiding insect heavy areas if possible.
The Department of Health is not disclosing the county where the Zika subject lives. For more information on Zika and the West Nile Virus, visit the SDDOH websites:
WEST NILE INFORMATION: http://doh.sd.gov/diseases/infectious/wnv/
ZIKA INFORMATION: http://doh.sd.gov/diseases/Zika.aspx
