Harvey is going to cause plenty of miseries to the Houston area, but a spike in Zika Virus cases isn't among them, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.'
Chris Van Deusen of the Texas Department of State Health Services, says the opposite is true. He says the flooding is actually leading to fewer of the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.
"We will see a dip in the short term in the number of mosquitoes, as the flood waters kind of wash away eggs and larvae, before they can develop into adults."
And Van Deusen says the mosquitoes which will hatch as the flood waters recede will not be a concern either.
"Most of those mosquitoes will be flood water mosquitoes, and they will be nuisance mosquitoes, and we are not concerned about them transmitting disease."
Van Deusen says the big problem with the mosquitoes that Houston will see for the rest of the season will not be Zika, but could be West Nile virus.
He says the situation after the waters recede will be the same as it is in areas which have not been flooded. The mosquitoes which spread Zika virus are 'container mosquitoes,' which breed in shallow water in flower pots or bird baths.
He says people in Houston should be aware of the problems that might be caused when the waters have dried up, but that situation won't be any different than the situation in San Antonio, which didn't face the flooding.