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.
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Puerto Rico has had 8,776 registered Zika cases, including 901 pregnant women, since the first case was reported in December. According to the Galveston County Health District (GCHD), a woman between the ages of 20 and 30 was infected while on a recent trip overseas and no evidence suggests the virus was transmitted locally.
Dr. Vivek Murthy said during a visit to the USA territory that local officials need to boost mosquito control efforts and make contraception more accessible and affordable.
“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency”, she said in a statement, without providing further details about the type of support it may provide.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) urges this group to avoid travel if possible to any location where Zika is actively spread and to use mosquito repellent and other prevention measures to avoid being bitten.
“It applies both to women who are pregnant, are considering getting pregnant in the next couple months, but also to men who have pregnant partners or potentially are looking at getting pregnant with their partners sometime soon, because of that fact that men can transmit it to female partners”, Minicuci said. REQUEST FROM THE GOVERNOR HHS made the declaration at the request of Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro García Padilla. Zika can cause catastrophic birth defects, including microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and, in most cases, incomplete brain development. The administration said on Thursday it had shifted $81 million in funds from other projects to continue work on developing vaccines to fight Zika in the absence of any funding from USA lawmakers.
Zika was first detected previous year in Brazil, where it has taken its heaviest toll so far, and has spread rapidly through the Americas. The action gives the government access to additional funding to fight Zika as congressional efforts to allocate money remain stalled. 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.
Health authorities say they believe the number of Zika cases is much higher because eight of 10 people show no symptoms and many don’t go to the doctor.
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The Republican legislation also would siphon off unused money under Obama’s signature 2010 healthcare law to combat Zika.
