“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, said department secretary Sylvia Burwell, who travelled to the USA territory in late April to evaluate its response to the spread of the virus.
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Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects and is particularly risky for pregnant women.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) The U.S. government on Friday declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico as a result of a Zika epidemic.
The virus was contracted by a female patient who traveled to Jamaica, mosquito control officials said.
“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”, said US Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell in a statement. It believes the actual number of infections is likely higher because most people with Zika have no symptoms and might not seek testing.
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President Obama asked Congress for $1.9 billion to fight Zika in February, but Congress has not been able to agree on a funding package.
Zika is linked to a serious birth defect in newborn babies called microcephaly, which causes an abnormally small brain and skull.
“Making insect repellent available for guests in public areas of hotels and other public accommodations, as well as directing them to information such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, would help to build protective behaviors”, said Cahyanto, an affiliate TCMI researcher from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D.
The announcement came hours after Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases in the past week, a total of 10,690 since the first one was reported in December.
It appears, however, that experts’ previous criticism of the CDC’s narrow Zika transmission travel warning was on target: “To assume that it’s just restricted to these few square blocks is presumptuous”, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Reuters on August 1. Burwell traveled to the USA territory in late April to evaluate its response to the outbreak. The virus is usually spread from the bite of infected mosquitoes or through sexual contact with a recently infected person.
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On Thursday, the administration also shifted $81 million in funds to keep Zika vaccine research going.
