WESLACO – The cooler temperatures are raising questions if people should still take precautions against the Zika virus.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service continues to collect samples of local mosquitoes and test for the virus.

Dr. Ismael Badillo, lead researcher, said so far none of the local samples have come back positive for the Zika virus. He said even though the temperatures are starting to cool down, people should still be cautious.

A couple months ago, Dr. Badillo said household participation had declined. It was where researchers were able to collect their mosquito samples.

He said now they have improved and have roughly 80 homes participating.

Dr. Badillo said even with the cooler temperatures the traps are still collecting a large amount of mosquitoes, especially indoors.

“That might not completely be the case because some of these mosquitoes are definitely present indoors, which means like even if there’s a little bit of cold temperatures outside, if they are able to get inside of their houses, they could still bite people. So maybe outside we’ll see a decrease on the mosquitoes that are being present in this areas,” he explained.

Dr. Badillo added even though the temperatures are dropping and the presence of mosquitoes may decrease, the rain expected could also be a potential breeding ground for them.