Another 122 pregnant women with confirmed or suspected infections are being monitored in USA territories.
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At the time, the agency was developing two surveillance systems in conjunction with state and local health officials – one to monitor people specifically in Puerto Rico, where the virus already was spreading rapidly, and another to monitor cases in the rest of the United States.
On Friday, the CDC announced it is now going to publicly report not only the number of pregnant women who test positive and show symptoms of the virus, but also pregnant women who display no symptoms but have shown laboratory evidence of possible exposure.
Including the two pregnant women, Washington state now has four cases of the Zika virus, which has the potential to cause birth defects.
Most people who get a Zika virus infection do not have symptoms.
The latest report comes at a time when US health officials have been clamoring for adequate funding to support mosquito protection and eradication, development of anti-Zika vaccines and better diagnostics, and long-term studies needed to follow children born to infected mothers and to better understand the sexual transmission risk.
“The outbreak and spread of the Zika virus requires an urgent response from the United States so that we can prevent its spread and treat those who have been infected”, said Klobuchar. But that’s likely because before today, the CDC only included women in reports who were showing symptoms.
Chessher says a pregnant woman from Garland traveled to a Central America sometime in late March. Health authorities continue their efforts to eliminate the mosquito-borne Zika virus, now of which there is no no cure or vaccine.
In Brazil, 1,271 babies have been born with unusually small heads and deformed brains since the outbreak of Zika began there a year ago.
Prevention measures that GHD recommends include dressing to prevent mosquito bites and drain and remove all standing water near your home. “But this is something we have to take seriously”, Obama said.
Both had traveled outside the U.S.to a Zika-affected area, said Jessica Rigler, who is chief of the state’s bureau of epidemiology and disease control. When she returned to Garland, she was tested for the Zika virus which resulted positive. But they also are tracking 157 other pregnant women across the country.
The White House threatened to veto separate legislation in the House and Senate over insufficient funding to combat the virus.
Also on Friday, President Barack Obama was briefed by Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, and other top federal health officials about Zika. Congress is locked in a battle over $1.1 billion in funding for Zika research, vaccine development and awareness campaigns. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has supported Obama’s request. “It needs to get me a bill that has sufficient funds to do the job”, he said.
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President Obama said, “Congress needs to get me a bill”.
