None of those cases involved pregnant women, but the state public health department has tested 78 pregnant women who thought they had been exposed to the virus through travel, said Nancy Nydam, spokesperson for the department.
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Donovan reiterated that idea when a reporter asked whether the administration’s $1.9 billion funding request to Congress would be reduced by $589 million – the amount that is being redirected from Ebola to Zika.
As of April 1, there are 672 confirmed cases of Zika in USA states and territories, Burwell said.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is most often found in the south, but a new CDC map indicates its potential to reach as far north as NY and Ohio. The president’s formal request for funds to help with the worldwide and domestic responses on Feb 22 said there was flexibility on the use of remaining Ebola money. “However, it’s unclear where and how, since the number of tourists coming to Vietnam and the number of Vietnamese traveling overseas are huge”, Dr. Tran Dac Phu, who heads the tropical country’s preventive health department, told VOA.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The White House on Wednesday issued a dire warning to Republicans in Congress: Spend money to prevent the Zika virus from spreading within the United States or regret it later. “The funding is [also] needed for mosquito control and surveillance and for lab capacity…”
The administration expects to send 75% of the $600 million to the Center for Disease Control.
The White House has explained that they can’t keep taking money from the Ebola fight, and the short term fix they are being forced into due to Republican inaction is not a permanent solution.
The World Health Organization has declared the Zika outbreak an global health emergency.
Donovan said though the administration has signaled that it was open to using a portion of Ebola money for Zika activities, the reallocated funds are not enough to address the response to the significant threat posed by the mosquito-borne disease and its complications.
Mr. Earnest said that the US government was in the rare position of being able to plan for a public health crisis that has not yet arrived in the country.
Burwell said a recent flare-up of Ebola in West Africa shows the United States can not shortchange its work in the region. Palm Beach reported another new case yesterday.
Officials said Wednesday there have been 64 confirmed cases of Zika in pregnant women in the continental U.S. One baby has been born with microcephaly in Hawaii and more cases are being investigated.
Burwell said the administration believes there will be local transmission of Zika in the continental US during the spring and summer months.
Zika, which began tearing through the Americas in 2015, is estimated to have sickened millions and has been linked to devastating birth defects and a paralyzing auto-immune disorder.
Urging Congress to act immediately, Donovan said, “We should not play with fire here”.
“We can not wait for this supplemental”.
CDC has encouraged women of childbearing age to postpone pregnancy for up to six months if they or their male partners have traveled to areas with active Zika transmission.
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Female mosquitoes bite for a blood meal, which is used to incubate eggs.
