“These efforts need to continue, and they can’t be stopped or short-changed”, said Health and Human Services Director Sylvia Burwell.
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“As we approach the summer season, it is important that we maintain an open line of communication with mosquito control districts so our state is prepared for the possible spread of Zika virus”, Gov. Scott said.
Burwell said there are 672 confirmed cases in US territories such as Puerto Rico and the United States, including 64 pregnant women.
“We have learned that sexual transmission of the virus is actually more common than was initially believed”.
Donovan reiterated that idea when a reporter asked whether the administration’s $1.9 billion funding request to Congress would be reduced by $589 million – the amount that is being redirected from Ebola to Zika. “Nearly two months have passed and the situation continues to grow more critical”, said Shaun Donovan, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
The reprogrammed money isn’t enough to fund scientific work on vaccines for the virus or expand mosquito-control programs, the White House said.
“We’ve already been trapping to try to identify them, and basically at some juncture say, ‘Yes, we are now seeing the Aedes species of mosquitoes in our area, ‘” Ortez said. Pregnant women whose sex partners have been in an affected area need to use a condom for the whole time they are pregnant, because no one’s sure how long the virus can stay in a man’s semen. More money would also help local health agencies prepare for the virus, the administration said.
In anticipation of warm and humid months ahead, which will lead to a rise in the disease’s primary vector, mosquitoes, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Acting State Surgeon General Celeste Philip hosted a conference call on Wednesday with state mosquito-control districts to discuss preparations. “We can’t set one crisis aside for another”, she said. The virus can spread from a pregnant woman to her unborn child, resulting in the serious birth defect microcephaly, which could possibly result in brain damage for the child.
The funds were originally earmarked to fight the Ebola virus, but with Ebola mostly eradicated and Zika spreading quickly throughout North America, government officials have made a decision to use these funds toward fighting the latter tropical virus.
“There are real consequences and risks for waiting”, Donovan said. Action on a stand-alone emergency spending bill seems improbable in the bitterly partisan atmosphere in Washington, though such funding could be attached to larger legislation later in the year. It said particular attention should be given to studying the genetics of the different Zika virus strains and establishing studies to determine if there is a causal relationship. “So what that means, is you can go on Spring Break and come back, have the virus and expose a family member or someone in your neighborhood or someone in your community to the Zika virus”.
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“We are pleased to hear today that federal agencies are heeding our call”, Mr. Rogers, Kentucky Republican, and his leading appropriators said Wednesday.
