Officials say a second person in Palm Beach County, Florida, has contracted the Zika virus through a local mosquito.

  • Pinellas County Mosquito Control treating potential breeding areas
  • Exact location not released of non travel-related Zika case
  • Pinellas County Mosquito Control website 
  • Zika- what you need to know 

Florida's Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday that a 24-year-old Lake Worth woman has been confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Officials say the woman was hospitalized last week with classic Zika symptoms that included fever, rash, eye redness and joint pain, but a final diagnosis did not come until Tuesday. The woman says she hasn't traveled outside of the county in months.

The number of non-travel related cases in Florida now stands at 43, with the majority having occurred in Miami-Dade County. Palm Beach County is north of Miami.

Zika causes a mild illness in most people but can lead to severe brain-related birth defects if women are infected during pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Pinellas County Mosquito Control was out Wednesday checking potential mosquito breeding areas.

On Wednesday three new travel-related cases of Zika were added to the list. There is currently one non travel-related case. The county says it has a boots-to-the-ground effort to battle the mosquito-borne illness.

"If we hit at the larvae stage and the adult stage we’re going for a complete total package of eradication and try to get the job secured that way," said Rob Krueger with Pinellas County Mosquito Control. “It’s always important to note that it's a control and not a complete eradication, and so that's why we depend on our service calls and follow up to make sure we’ve gotten everything we can."

Meantime, the county says it encourages residents to eliminate any standing water on their property while crews continue to treat, but don’t expect any type of spray schedule.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.