Local leaders are preparing for a double punch of mosquito-borne illnesses.
This, as we're hitting the peak of West Nile season.
On Tuesday, Denton County reported two new cases, now totaling seven.
Collin County has eight; Dallas County has 27 and Tarrant has 16 cases.
Then there's that looming question about the Zika virus. That combination could potentially lead to a first in Tarrant County: aerial spraying.
It's the last option Fort Worth city leaders want to take. They're focused now on educating people about how to keep themselves safe and on killing off mosquito eggs. But they want to be ready in case those steps aren't enough.
“Hey bud, you’re good,” Whitley Siqueiros cooed to her three-month-old baby, while pushing a stroller through Sundance Square.
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When you have a new baby, he's your world and anything that threatens that, especially during pregnancy, will keep you up at night.
"At what point are mosquitoes going to start carrying it and when am I going to be effected?" said Siqueiros.
It's a question local leaders are worried about, too.
On Tuesday, Tarrant County Commissioners said they're not ready to start aerial spraying yet. But they want city councils to decide if they want in, if it gets to that point.
"We want to make sure that we have all the resources available to us to combat the virus, so that we're not playing catch up," said Fort Worth Code Compliance Director Brandon Bennett.
He thinks Fort Worth should sign on, if the county decides aerial spraying is necessary, and if they pick up the city's $1.2 million cost.
The trigger point would be widespread cases of West Nile virus, or any local transmissions of Zika.
"It's critical in an epidemic, or Zika outbreak, to knock down as many, if not all, of the disease-carrying mosquitoes that you can," said Bennett.
He says that can't happen fast enough with ground spraying. But to parents like Siqueiros, spraying from the sky brings a whole new set of worries.
"For me, self-regulation would be my preferred way to attack it because that's something I have control over,” said Siqueiros. “I don't have any control over the chemicals that they put into the air. I have control over where I go, what I wear, what I put on my body to try to protect myself."
After Fort Worth’s Pre-Council meeting Tuesday afternoon, the council plans to follow Bennett’s advice and work with the county to allow aerial spraying, if necessary and if they pay for it. But right now, numbers of West Nile cases are well below the marks set in the outbreak of 2012. So prevention and control techniques will continue as they stand for now.
The cost of aerial spraying for all of Tarrant County would be more than $3 million.
