Osceola County Mosquito Control is encouraging a heightened sense of surveillance after health officials confirmed the first case of the Zika virus in the county.

Mosquitoes are known to carry the virus, which has been linked to serious birth defects in unborn babies, and county officials are asking residents with backyards to focus on the “drain and cover” method.

“Look for places where water is accumulating. Water can be in tarps, water can be in bird baths, dog bowls,” Osceola County Mosquito Control Director Terry Torrens said. “Something as small as a water bottle cap can breed up to two hundred mosquitoes.”

Osceola residents are cautious.

“I am concerned yes,” Osceola County resident Janet North said. “Young women should be well aware of what is going on.”

Osceola is also deploying Fay-Prince traps, which are a special type of mosquito trap that's more attractive to Aedes aegypti, the type of mosquito that can transmit the Zika virus.

Torrens says the count collected in these traps has been very low. Nonetheless, the county is also conducting ground-based spraying. So far, all of the cases in Florida have been travel-related. This is why experts say the threat to local residents is slim.

“There’s a very low likelihood and almost no likelihood of a local transmission, and that with our weather patterns, especially with a cold front coming and another one coming,” Torrens said.

“Everything is working in our favor for everyone to remain calm, be wise and protect themselves.”