US President Barack Obama speaks about the response and precautions to take for the Zika virus, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 1, 2016.
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There were 10 new travel-related Zika cases reported in Florida on Friday, according to state health officials.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott has also advocated for more federal funding.
A case of the Zika virus has been reported in Cincinnati, health commissioner Dr. O’dell Owens announced in a news conference Friday.
All of them contracted the virus while traveling overseas. The U.S. could reduce the risk of the virus, which has been linked to birth defects such as microcephaly in newborns, if Congress approves funding, Obama said. Microcephaly is a condition in which a baby’s head is unusually small and can involve problems such as seizures, developmental delays and disabilities, feeding difficulties and other challenges.
Owens recommended that pregnant women do not travel to Rio de Janeiro, and advised men who travel to that region wear a condom during all sexual encounters for the next six months on arrival.
Zika is a disease caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, or commonly known as Yellow Fever mosquitoes. The agency awarded $567.5 million in cooperative agreements to 62 public health departments across the country to improve and sustain emergency preparedness of state and local public health systems.
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Depending on how you look at it, Florida will have an additional $1.4 million next week to fight Zika, a mosquito-borne illness that can cause birth defects. Earlier this year, she said, the CDC had to transfer $44 million from state and local preparedness grants to fund the national Zika response. The PHEP program provides resources annually that are needed to ensure that local communities can respond effectively to infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or chemical, biological, or radiological nuclear events.
