Dr. Catherine Brown, mosquito-borne illness expert at the Department of Public Health, said the Zika virus does not discriminate and anyone can get it.
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With the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro, health officials worldwide have voiced concerns over a potential crisis, both in Brazil and when global athletes and tourists, who may be unknowingly infected, return home and possibly spread the virus.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement that the Zika funding impasse “never should have gotten to this point”.
The declaration allows Puerto Rico to apply for funding to hire unemployed workers to help with mosquito control, outreach and education through the Department of Labor’s National Dislocated Worker Grant program.
USA health authorities yesterday declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico due to the outbreak of Zika, which has now infected more than 10,000 people.
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause fetal demise or detriment, including microcephaly, convulsions, and developmental defects.
The continuing Zika outbreak was first detected past year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas. That request included $246 million in funding to be provided through Medicaid for Puerto Rico and other USA territories.
According to the Puerto Rico health department, there are now 10,690 confirmed cases of Zika on the island, including 1,035 pregnant women.
Follow-up testing showed the Zika virus was still present in his urine, saliva and sperm, 91 days after the onset of symptoms.
In the USA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 1,800 travel-associated cases of Zika. So far, that is the only location in the United States where local mosquitoes are spreading the disease.
Dr. Vivek Murthy said during a visit to the US territory that local officials need to boost mosquito control efforts and make contraception more accessible and affordable.
Two of the individuals had traveled to Nicaragua while the other recently visited Puerto Rico.
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Mayor Gimenez also urged the governor to consider an economic recovery package for businesses in the area of Wynwood – considered ground zero for Zika transmission locally. Congress left for its summer break without reaching a new agreement, prompting some lawmakers to call for a special session to be held given the threat of Zika.
