The US government has declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico amid a Zika virus epidemic.
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The public health emergency declaration is a tool for the federal government to provide fresh support to Puerto Rico’s government to tackle the outbreak and grants access to certain federal funds.
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, new research from Italy finds that Zika, which can cause birth defects including microcephaly, can remain in an infected man’s sperm for as long as six months, even with treatment, suggesting the risk of sexual transmission is greater than previously believed.
University Health Network infectious diseases specialist Isaac Bogoch said the full range of health issues related to Zika still isn’t clear, and doctors will be closely watching babies who have been infected to see if cognitive problems emerge as they grow.
The Obama administration said Thursday that it will transfer $81 million from existing federal health programs so there’s enough money to continue trials of a Zika vaccine.
The case marks the 22nd Zika diagnosis in Washington state, including one case in Yakima County earlier this summer.
In addition to Zika, Puerto Rico is grappling with a $70 billion debt.
Puerto Rico Health Secretary Ana Rius said 90 people have been hospitalized because of Zika.
A bill providing $1.1 billion was blocked by Democrats after Republicans attached language to stop abortion-provider Planned Parenthood from using that government funding for healthcare services, mainly in USA territories like Puerto Rico.
The infected mosquitoes are located in most of Central and South America as well as several Pacific Islands and Cape Verde in Africa.
More than 70 percent of those surveyed said they were concerned about the virus, but less than 10 percent of those with concerns changed their travel plans, according to researchers at the university’s Tourism Crisis Management Initiative (TCMI).
“We are well aware of the importance of determining if there are mosquitoes that have the ability to transmit the Zika virus in our community, and we are implementing steps to identify them if they are in our community”, said Monroe County Health Officer Kim Comerzan.
“The current spread of Zika virus poses a significant threat to public health in the Commonwealth relating to pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika”, HHS said in a statement.
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The Republican legislation also would siphon off unused money under Obama’s signature 2010 healthcare law to combat Zika.
