Dallas County is seeing progress in the fight against West Nile virus.
The number of mosquitoes caught in the 220 traps placed throughout the county is dropping, along with the number of mosquitoes carrying the virus.
"The abundance number is going down," said Zach Thompson, Dallas County health department director. "Next week, it could stay stagnant or it could go up a little bit. But in terms of where we were at this time last year, the abundance numbers are up, but the infection rate is low."
The number of human cases in Dallas County so far this year remains at four, with no deaths
Dallas County wants cities and towns to be even more aggressive about ground spraying next year, by responding to positive traps within just eight hours.
"I think we need to have a discussion with all the municipalities about eight-hour response when you have a positive mosquito trap or human case," Thompson said. "We want to immediately [have] ground application done in those cities."
"We understand that some residents want notification up to 48 hours, 24 hours, so we need to revisit that and let the cities make a decision on that," he said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Although the numbers are going in the right direction, health officials say it is still important to do everything you can to protect yourself against mosquito bites.
Meanwhile, in Collin County, Plano confirmed Tuesday their third case of West Nile virus in a person. The patient lives in the 75025 zip code. As of this writing, additional ground spraying has not been announced for that area.
