It also allows Puerto Rico to temporarily reassign public health workers funded through Public Health Service Act programmes to assist in the Zika response.
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Health Secretary Ana Rius said Friday there are 10,690 cases altogether, including 1,035 involving pregnant women.
“Burwell… do hereby determine that a public health emergency of national significance exists within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico relating to pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika”, the statement noted on Friday.
The declaration will allow HHS to provide added support to the government of Puerto Rico to address the outbreak on the island.
Zika is known to cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects in newborns and has been associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, stillbirth and serious neurological problems.
Men and women living in Puerto Rico and other areas where Zika is spreading should take precautions to prevent mosquito bites to avoid being infected with Zika virus and to prevent further spread of the virus.
They also stress the need for individual responsibility to reduce the impact of the Zika virus.
The Obama administration in February requested US$1.9 billion to fight Zika, but the Republican-led Congress has approved no money. In July, the U.S. reported its first locally transmitted cases of Zika in the southern state of Florida. More than 100 pregnant women infected with Zika in Puerto Rico who have given birth have had healthy babies, officials said.
The total number of confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Canada, meanwhile, has risen to 205 as of August 11.
At present, there is no vaccine for Zika virus.
As of Thursday, there have been 205 confirmed cases of travel-related Zika infections in Canada and two cases of sexual transmission.
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A bill providing $1.1 billion was blocked by Democrats after Republicans attached language to stop abortion-provider Planned Parenthood from using that government funding for healthcare services, mainly in USA territories like Puerto Rico.
