Zika virus is an epidemic in Puerto Rico, where some 1/4 of the population is predicted to become infected within the year, with eventually 80% getting it. Our fellow Americans will be suffering spontaneous abortions, severe birth defects (including babies born with small brains having lifelong disabilities) and even adults getting Guillan-Barre.
[Thomas Frieden, CDC’s Director, said] “it’s an uphill battle” … The CDC is trying to help stem the tide of Zika in Puerto Rico, he said. The agency has sped up production of kits to test for the virus and has started to distribute prevention kits. The prevention kits contain mosquito repellent and condoms, and information for women on how they can reduce their risk of infection while pregnant or planning to become pregnant, he added.
http://news.health.com/2016/03/10/zika-poses-serious-threat-to-puerto-rico-u-s-health-officials/
Congress needs to step up with some funding. It’s ridiculous that the Obama Administration had to rededicate over half a billion in Ebola funds and health infrastructure funds for Western Africa, to deal with Zika in the US. It’s crazy that funding for Zika vaccines is taking from existing NIH funds, rather than having a large dedicated pot of money authorized by Congress. Negligence. This should be a major topic of conversation.
the Obama administration will redirect nearly $600 million in funds, the majority from existing Ebola resources, to fight the spread of the Zika virus.
“These repurposed funds are not enough to support a comprehensive Zika response and can only temporarily address what is needed until the Congress acts on the administration’s emergency supplemental request,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan said Wednesday. The White House submitted that $1.9 billion request to Congress in February of this year.
Funding shortfall
On Wednesday, White House officials warned that without the funding, the U.S. risks not having the ability to properly respond to the Zika virus, including delays in mosquito control and surveillance, diagnostic testing, and vaccine development.
http://www.voanews.com/content/white-house-to-redirect-ebola-funds-to-fight-zika/3273131.html
That $1.9 billion comes out to less than $6 per person.
And Zika transmission is coming to the mainland this summer. Look out. Yes, it may be just pockets of sustained transmission that we can stamp out through mosquito control initiatives. Or not. This rosy scenario depends on the A. aegypti mosquito being the only efficient vector, which still makes it a downright urgent problem given its widespread distribution. But the CDC knows it’s entirely possible that the Asian Tiger mosquito (A. albopictus, in green below) can transmit it; hence they made this graphic.
Even “the” West Nile Virus mosquito (Culex family) could transmit Zika in a sustained fashion across the US (more on this possibility below). For example, in the US, West Nile Virus has been “detected in at least 34 species of mosquitoes” (peer-reviewed publication).
West Nile Virus Activity by State – United States, 2015 (as of January 12, 2016)
http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/statsmaps/preliminarymapsdata/activitystatedate.html
I’m no entomologist, but I tried to better understand the Culex mosquitoes and did find this potentially relevant map also published in peer-reviewed literature (PDF).
Seriously, nobody knows for sure that Culex mosquitoes aren’t efficient vectors for this strain of Zika virus.
Researchers have now established that an outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013 was the same [Zika] strain. But the virus was not found in Aedes aegypti there, said Constancia Ayres, an entomologist studying Zika in mosquitoes in the Recife branch of Brazil’s foremost public-health research institute, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). And it wasn’t found in an outbreak on the Pacific Island of Yap in 2007 either.
“I believe Aedes can transmit the virus,” she said. “But I believe it is possible that Culex is the major vector in Brazil.”
[snip]
All of this matters because a public-health response must be tailored to the vector.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/who-may-be-leading-brazil-down-wrong-path-on-zika-virus/article29390468/
It should be said:
While experts strongly suspect Aedes aegypti is the main transmitter of the virus, they don’t know for sure.
Four independent mosquito experts contacted by GlobalPost confirm there’s still some uncertainty. While each says it’s likely that Aedes aegypti is the virus’ main carrier in Latin America, they also agree it is not correct to state this as a fact.
"I think it would be surprising if Aedes aegypti wasn’t the main vector, but the evidence just isn’t very strong yet," says Scott Weaver, a mosquito expert and professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
After being pressed on the issue, a top WHO researcher also acknowledged this. The recognizable black-and-white striped mosquito is just the most likely carrier, she says, but the United Nations’ health arm is not 100 percent sure, either.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/04/07/global-post-mosquito-zika-brazil/82742382/
The CDC is openly promoting the possibility (even if it’s more remote) that the Asian Tiger mosquito can transmit Zika. Their above map says it’s “more likely” to be transmitted by the less common A. aegypti.
But the realm of possibility is wide-open. One mosquito can transmit it in one place and another mosquito can transmit it in a different environment. This scenario happens all the time: just see the 2001 and the 2015 outbreaks of dengue in Hawaii that were driven by the Asian Tiger mosquito. Usually dengue is transmitted by the A. aegypti mosquito as in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. And Zika and dengue viruses are in the same family.
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Hey Congress, Hey Republicans:
It’s an emergency.
How about some urgency in working towards a financial package to deal with Puerto Rico’s debts and budget shortfall? How about some stop-gap funding to deal with Zika?
How about that $1.9 billion in emergency funding to scale-up vector control and preparedness efforts across the country, and actually funding research towards a vaccine (and for testing any potential antiviral drugs for the short-term response)?
Hey Bernie, Hey Hillary:
How about shinning a light on the lack of Congressional funding and the fucking tragedy that will unfold in Puerto Rico, with some coordinated messaging? The White House and CDC communications efforts have been drowned out by other media stories, including the back and forth of the horse race. Waiting another two months until their June primary is not going to cut it. That’s two months we don’t get back. Link this to global warming if you want (e.g. dengue’s projected spread to the mainland). Link it to Congressional inaction on the SCOTUS nomination. I don’t care. Just get on it. Now.
Hey DailyKos:
How about finding ways for the horse race to be leveraged into furthering important issues?
Hey local governments:
How about some public communications campaigns to involve your residents in mosquito control efforts? How about some visible preparedness efforts getting ready to deploy vector control? How about some coordinated lobbying of Congress if you don’t have the funds?
Hey TV people,
...bite me.
All hands on deck.