“So far, this is the first type of mosquito-borne virus that can actually cause birth defects”, said Dr. John Cmar, Sinai Hospital in Baltimore.
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Zika virus is linked to birth defect micocephaly in Brazil and is rapidly spreading in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The new statements about Zika are helping to fuel a political battle, as the Obama administration reiterates its call for more money to fight the virus, and Congressional Republicans push back.
However, Fauci believes this money is a “temporary stopgap” and it’s “not enough for us to get the job done”.
Fauci said researchers have developed two mouse models to study how Zika infects the neurological tissues, as well as a monkey model that showed that the virus stays around the blood significantly longer in pregnant monkeys than it does in non-pregnant monkeys. Even so, “our $1.9 billion request remains our $1.9 billion request”, said Office of Management and Budget director Shaun Donovan.
Dr Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said health authorities had thus far been scraping together funding from other health campaigns to combat the virus.
As of now, The CDC reports that none of the reported Zika virus cases stemmed from mosquitos within the United States; there are also no known cases of microcepaly triggered by Zika in the United States, either.
Citing a close relationship with the pharmaceutical industry for disease vaccination and preventions, Dr. Fauci, Director of NIH/NIAID in the same press conference today was abrupt and to the point and said he needed the full $1.9 Billion.
Aside from adding Zika to an FDA list of tropical diseases, it would also offer incentives to drug companies to come up with a vaccine for the virus.
Brazil said last week it has confirmed more than 1,046 cases of microcephaly, and considers most to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.
As of last week, there were 700 cases of Zika disease in the United States, including its territories – about half of them in Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.
“This doesn’t mean that all people infected with Zika will experience these brain problems”.
Ava-joye Burnett has the warning from health officials.
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“We think there could be hundreds of thousands of cases of Zika virus in Puerto Rico and perhaps hundreds of affected babies”, she said. The administration is working on mosquito control efforts and “Zika prevention kits” for pregnant women. “Down the road we will be able to manage this problem”, said Florida Senator Bill Nelson.
