"Give us the money so we can work with American women and children and families to monitor the effects of Zika, so we can do a better job at killing mosquitoes to protect American women, and so we can develop better tools to diagnose Zika, to control mosquitoes and ultimately, with NIH in the lead, to find a vaccine to protect women," Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Zika is a virus spread by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can cause fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red or pink eyes). The majority of those infected with the Zika virus do not even get sick. But, Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus during pregnancy or around the time of birth, which may cause a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly .
The American Gulf coast is predicted to be ground zero for the virus this summer. Cities such as Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Biloxi and Miami are beginning to experience a rainy season with increasing heat (exacerbated by climate change) creating favorable environments for the Aedes aegypti mosquito to replicate rapidly.
President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion four months ago to research this horrible virus and prevent localized outbreaks. The request is what the CDC said they needed to hopefully nip this virus in the bud before this national emergency explodes out of control. But guess what? The GOP Congress pushed through a $622 million billion to combat the virus. The Senate? Not much better.
News.Lee.Net reports:
The 241-184 House vote broke mostly along party lines as Democrats lined up in opposition, heeding a White House veto threat and a warning from a top government health official that the bill wouldn't do enough to respond to the growing threat from Zika.
"It's just not enough," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said of the House measure. "It doesn't give Americans the protections they deserve, and with every day of delay it gets harder to do this." He added that he's "optimistic that at the end of the day they're going to do the right thing on Zika."
Overall, President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion three months ago for the fight against Zika, which is spread by mosquitoes and sexual contact and can cause severe birth defects. The Senate is moving ahead this week with a $1.1 billion plan and agreed with Obama that the money should be added to the budget deficit rather than be "offset" with cuts to other programs.
Democrats and the White House have been hammering at Republicans for dragging their feet on Zika, but the political tempest in Washington hasn't been matched by fear among the public, at least according to recent polling. But GOP leaders see a political imperative to act as the summer mosquito season heats up.