Top Republicans such as Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers of Kentucky have successfully pressured the administration to unspent Ebola funds to finance nearly $600 million in anti-Zika efforts such as research on the virus and Zika-related birth defects, response teams to limit Zika’s spread, and helping other countries fight the virus.
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‘Let’s deal with this threat in a responsible sort of way that we all agree we should, but let’s do so in a fiscally responsible way as well.
He added: “We can quite frankly do much better than what the House is proposing”. The bill involved the provision of $622 million that is considered extremely insufficient by the White House for Zika prevention.
Zika virus can cause fetal brain defects and microcephaly and is blamed for 1200 cases of new born babied with some disorders and deformed brains in Brazil past year.
Prof Whitworth said the mosquitoes that spread Zika are not found naturally in the United Kingdom because the climate is too cold, even in summer, and there is virtually “no chance” of an epidemic in the UK.
“The overall risk of a Zika virus outbreak across the WHO European Region is low to moderate during late spring and summer”, it said. Zika is commonly spread by mosquitoes, though all of the more than 500 cases in the continental USA have been linked to overseas travel. It is “paid for” with cuts elsewhere in the budget, including unspent funds from the successful fight against Ebola.
The virus is now present in 58 countries.
“‘I can’t imagine any more urgent public health program, or one that we should be looking to prevent, than this particular threat, the Zika virus'”. “The House of Representatives is three months late and more than $1 billion short”. The world health body is continuing to recommend they, and others at risk, protect themselves from infections, including through sexual transmission. “If we don’t get the money soon, then we’re really going to have to start modifying our plans”. Senate Republican leaders called three votes on different plans for financing the fight against the virus. Rubio asked his colleagues.
“If anybody in the audience or in this room doesn’t think this an emergency, you should have been with Sen”.
In the absence of a vaccine, which could take a decade to develop, or drug treatment, the focus has been on controlling the mosquitoes who spread the virus.
“This funding bill is the next step in our response”, Rogers said, promising it’ll be enough “to fight and prevent the spread of the Zika virus for the rest of this fiscal year” on September 30. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md. “Well, while we parse and ponder, Zika infects and affects more people each day. Congress must treat Zika as a health emergency and fully fund the Obama administration’s $1.9 billion proposal to combat it”.
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Information for this article was contributed by Andrew Taylor of The Associated Press and by Steven T. Dennis, Laura Litvan and Jeannie Baumann of Bloomberg News.
