Bakersfield in top 50 at-risk cities for Zika

<p>Federal agencies are telling state and local officials to get ready for possible Zika virus outbreaks when mosquito season hits.</p><p>Officials&nbsp;<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/04/02/cdc-urges-health-officials-to-prepare-for-possible-zika-outbreak-this-summer.html" target="_blank">don&#39;t expect Zika levels in the U.S.</a>&nbsp;to spike to the levels seen in Latin America and the Caribbean, but they believe there will be small clusters of outbreaks, particularly in Florida and Texas.</p><p>Now, the focus is on eliminating the type of mosquitoes most likely to carry the virus, Aedes aegypti. That may be a challenge because officials say counties might only have a handful of&nbsp;<a href="http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/02/05/zika-concerns-has-broward-mosquito-control-scrambling/" target="_blank">people working on mosquito control</a>.</p><p>In order to get a handle on the Zika-carrying mosquitoes, officials say they need better mapping of where they are &nbsp;and a lot more funding.</p><p>The director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly called for congressional funding to fight the virus, and in February, President Barack Obama asked Congress for roughly $2 billion in aid, though Congress hasn&#39;t voted on anything yet.</p><p>Officials also want to use that money to develop faster testing methods. Currently, it takes up to a week to get results.</p><p>Zika itself isn&#39;t usually life-threatening, but it&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/t0325-zika.html" target="_blank">increasingly linked</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbJt6pSxkI0" target="_blank">serious birth defects</a>&nbsp;in pregnant women who have the virus.</p><p><i>This video includes clips from&nbsp;</i><i><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/zika-virus-outbreak-inside-hot-zone-36706014" target="_blank">ABC</a></i><i>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</i><i><a href="http://abc7.com/news/8-oc-cities-to-be-sprayed-with-chemical-to-reduce-west-nile-virus-risk/974807/" target="_blank">KABC</a></i><i>&nbsp;and images from Getty Images.&nbsp;</i></p>