RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia health officials are encouraging residents to help combat the spread of the Zika virus as mosquito season begins.The Virginia Health Department’s Zika website provides information about how residents can take precautions against the mosquito-borne illness. Zika can cause serious birth defects in pregnant women.There have been 115 reported cases of Zika in Virginia since December 2015. Those have all been cases in which someone traveled to a Zika-affected area. There were no locally transmitted cases.Officials say residents can help prevent the spread of Zika by tipping containers that collect water, like flower pots, where mosquitoes like to breed. They’re also encouraging residents who travel to Zika-affected areas to guard themselves against mosquitoes for three weeks after they return so they don’t pass Zika to mosquitoes.