As mild weather continues in North Texas, the City of Dallas is continuing the fight against West Nile virus and asking citizens to help.
Dallas County commissioners on Tuesday announced two positions to help county health officials fight West Nile virus.
The county will now employ two microbiologists who will help the county monitor for West Nile virus year round.
Zachary Thompson, health county department director, said the county there will be a focus on vigilance against the illness.
"The northeast quadrant is the hot area where we are going to stay focused," he said. "We'll look at all of Dallas County."
County officials said last week that an expanded West Nile virus prevention program was already under way to to avoid another outbreak like the one this year.
The plan includes year-round monitoring of the mosquito population instead of just during peak season, nearly four times as many mosquito traps and more local testing of samples to more quickly detect the disease instead of waiting for state test results.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff contributed to this report.
