Dallas County Health and Human Services is unveiling a new tool in the fight against the deadly West Nile virus on Wednesday.
The health department is launching a new website the community can use to track mosquito spraying or report standing water.
The health department is rolling out the new site on Wednesday, but commissioners are getting a preview of the online resource that could save lives.
"This time, we're more prepared, working better with the municipalities in conjunction with citizens," said county commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia.
Garcia said the county's ready to battle West Nile virus this year, but doesn't want to fight it alone.
"It's going to take citizens' concerns to the next level," said Garcia.
The new site will allow people to track by zip code where infected mosquitoes have been located, where the county will be spraying, or report breeding grounds where mosquitoes could be thriving.
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"If you see a neglected property, standing water, someone that needs to take care of a pool, you have the opportunities to know where these properties are and report them," said Garcia.
The county is trying to prevent another deadly year like 2012, the worst ever, where 89 Texans died and more than 1,800 were infected.
The county hopes the website will help.
"I hope everyone pays attention to this and gets involved," said Garcia.
The maps on the site will cover the 14 smaller cities and unincorporated areas of the county. It doesn't include the City of Dallas.
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price hopes other cities will voluntarily take part.
Health Director Zachary Thompson said this time last year the county already had its first mosquito test positive for the West Nile virus. So far this year, the county’s labs have not had any positive results, however, private contractors found positive pools in Highland Park and Richardson.
