Brownsville, Texas – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing a travel warning to the border city of Brownsville after the threat of Zika looms in one particular neighborhood where five people have contracted the virus.
"It is kind of scary... You don't want your baby to come out sick or anything especially if you've already had kids that have problems," said Brownsville resident Mariela Barron.
Barron says she lost a child recently, has 3 others, and another is on the way. She is 7 months pregnant living in a neighborhood where Zika is spreading.
County and city health officials recently asked residents living in a half mile radius of Brownsville for urine samples to test for Zika, where 5 people have resulted positive.
“I actually got tested but they haven't called me,” said Barron. “So they said that if they don’t call me its good news."
The CDC is issuing a warning for pregnant women like Barron, urging them to avoid traveling to Brownsville until further notice.
A few blocks down lives 65-year-old Maggie Benavidez.
“We’re just like in Brazil,” said Benavidez. “…that there were warnings for us not to go to Brazil or anywhere else… Brownsville is getting just like that.”
She says authorities haven’t done enough. Benavidez points to issues such as weedy lots and standing water, both mosquito breeding grounds.
“Look at that grass there… no one has come to cut it. Nobody has knocked on my door to ask for a sample, and no trucks have passed by spraying,” she said.
Some neighbors are working to fix the problem by cutting their lawn. The city has even threatened to fine those who do not comply. For now, people like Barron and Benavidez hope this problem ends soon.
The CDC says temperatures in Brownsville aren't cold enough to kill the mosquito. Mix that with the on-and-off rain the region is experiencing and the weedy lots, and it creates a perfect environment for Zika to thrive.