Puerto Rico’s health department reported Friday that 10,690 people had been infected with the mosquito-borne virus in the last seven months.
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Request the temporary reassignment of local public health department or agency personnel who are funded through Public Health Service Act programs in Puerto Rico to assist in the Zika response. “This emergency declaration allows us to provide additional support to the Puerto Rican government and reminds us of the importance of pregnant women, women of childbearing age, and their partners taking additional steps to protect themselves and their families from Zika”.
The health emergency declaration allows Puerto Rico to apply for more federal resources to help fight the outbreak on the island.
Zika was first detected in Brazil previous year, and has since spread rapidly through South America and the Caribbean. Zika can cause severe birth defects.
According to a statement from the Miami-Dade County mayor’s office, volunteers will hand out repellent and pamphlets about preventing mosquito bites to people attending events Saturday evening in the Wynwood arts district. Among U.S. states and territories, Puerto Rico is expected to see the worst of the outbreak due to its tropical climate and a lack of infrastructure for mosquito control.
The announcement came hours after Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases in the past week, for a total of 10,690 since the first one was reported in December. Meanwhile, the number of Zika cases in Florida continued to climb Friday. It believes the actual number of infections is likely higher because most people with Zika have no symptoms and might not seek testing.
The Obama administration in February requested $1.9 billion to fight Zika, but congressional lawmakers have been considering a much smaller sum.
Zika is primarily spread by mosquitoes, but can also be transmitted by sexual contact.
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On Thursday, the administration also shifted $81 million in funds to keep Zika vaccine research going.
