Voracious Little Fish Keeping Zika Virus In Check

SAN JOSE (KCBS) -- Santa Clara County's insect control experts are working hard to make sure the Zika virus doesn't make its way to Silicon Valley this summer, and a tiny fish is on the front lines.

West Nile virus is still the main concern in the South Bay, but the growing Zika virus threat has officials concerned.

The mosquito fish being used in the effort against Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes are small, but they have a big appetite for bugs.

"One of those little fish will eat hundreds of mosquito larvae and pupae in a day," Denise Bonilla, a Manager with the Santa Clara County Vector Control District told KCBS.

The district is in constant battle with insects, and the diseases they carry.

"We constantly have people coming into the county, who have been traveling; who have infections of Zika, and dengue, and we want to make sure that the mosquito that actually transmits those, and the people who are infected don't get near each other, " Bonilla said.

The Aedes Aegypti mosquito that can carry Zika was found in San Mateo County in 2013. So far, the mosquitoes have not been found in Santa Clara County.