Florida and local health officials are mobilizing a citizens army to combat the Zika virus. It’s prime mosquito breeding season and Florida leads the nation in the number of confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus with 102 cases as of May 5. Residents of at least 17 counties have travel-related infections. Zika can cause birth defects and leave adults with the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Health experts say Tallahassee sits where ground zero of an outbreak could occur: the Gulf Coast. More than 60 million people live on a stretch of land from Naples in southwest Florida, through New Orleans and arcing down to Corpus Christi, in southeast Texas.
