The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is working to inform the public and health physicians about how to prevent the spread of Zika virus.
The Department is sending local physicians guidelines this week, which will affect their clinical decision making as it relates to the virus, including the process for testing.
Dr. Charity Dean is the Physician Health Officer with the County and authored those guidelines.
"As the CDC researches this virus, they're learning new things a time. And it's changes what we do on the front lines, what we recommend to providers and what patients need to do," said Dean.
The Health Department urges people traveling, especially pregnant women, to check whether Zika virus transmission is present at their destination, and to prevent mosquito bites.
No one in Santa Barbara County has tested positive for the virus.
