President Barack Obama will ask the U.S. Congress for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funds to fight Zika at home and overseas and pursue a vaccine, the White House said on Monday, but he added there is no reason to panic over the mosquito-borne virus.
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Health officials have confirmed the third local case of the Zika virus, after a Dallas resident who recently traveled to Honduras tested positive for the disease. While most people experience either mild or no symptoms, Zika is suspected of causing a devastating birth defect babies born with abnormally small heads and pregnant Americans are urged to avoid travel to affected areas.
At least 66 people have been diagnosed with the Zika virus in the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday.
“It’s business as usual, because we know how to control these mosquitoes”, Conlon said.
The administration’s request to Congress is separate from the budget for the next fiscal year that Obama will submit to Congress on Tuesday. “Our focus is on protecting pregnant women and trying to control the mosquito”.
Most of the money would be allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services to improve laboratory capacity, launch educational programs and establish rapid response teams. The primary mosquito that spreads Zika virus is found in the tropics and southern US, but it is not found in Ohio.
CDC has issued a travel alert for people traveling to the following regions and countries where Zika virus is now spreading: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. territories; American Samoa; Barbados; Bolivia; Brazil; Cape Verde; Colombia; Costa Rica; Curacao; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; French Guiana; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Martinique; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Saint Martin; Samoa; Suriname; Tonga; and Venezuela. The first case of Zika virus transmitted in the United States was reported in Texas last week. While the illness typically resolves within a week, some severe cases may require hospitalization. “Products containing the right percentages of DEET or picaridan were most effective at preventing bites from aggressive mosquitos in our tests”, said Sue Byrne of Consumer Reports. Well, there are related species to the Aedes mosquito that have ranges that go up to MI. Fauci noted that those same mosquitoes spread dengue and chikungunya, cousins of Zika, and there has been some local transmission of those viruses in recent years.
Several biotech and pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop a Zika vaccine, including France’s Sanofi, which already has vaccine for the similar condition of dengue. Even women who are pregnant or breastfeeding can safely use these insect repellents if they’re applied properly.
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Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, said that Congress should act swiftly to strengthen the response to “Zika’s distressing spread”. Efforts to expand the scope of the emergency spending bill could make it harder to pass.
