NIH funds study of Zika infections in US Olympic athletes

In Brazil alone, 5,000 babies have been born with microcephaly after their mothers were infected by the virus while pregnant. Zika has been linked to microcephaly in developing fetuses, which can lead to below-average head size, developmental difficulties, and brain damage.

Pinning down more concrete answers about how common birth defects may be among pregnant women remains an arduous task, and scientists still do not know if other factors including genetics, exposure to other viruses or how women contracted the virus-via sex or mosquito bite-may play a role.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has started a statewide surveillance program to monitor mosquitoes, which is something the organization does every year.

“People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika”, the CDC stated.

Before the announcement of the new case, Spain had 158 known cases of Zika infections at last count, all of which resulted from traveling overseas.

Florida health officials confirmed 10 new Zika infections on Friday, the largest number of infections found on a single day and a sign of the United States’ faltering response to a looming crisis.

In the interim, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $25 million in funding to 53 state, local, and territorial health departments in areas that have the greatest Zika risk.

“In coastal counties, we have problems with salt marsh mosquitoes so that those are more prevalent in those types of areas.” .

More information and conclusive research makes it more possible for health officials to work towards a solution, including a vaccine for the virus.

Lawmakers in Washington have been fighting over a more than $1 billion proposal to fight the virus. None are believed to have been transmitted locally, though some were spread through sexual contact.

Obama and congressional Democrats are at an impasse with Republicans who control the legislature over funding for Zika. The implication was that poor Puerto Rican women would not be able to otherwise obtain contraceptives to prevent having a Zika-infected embryo. Ben Nelson, D-Fla., contended.

Other studies show Wolbachia prevents mosquito transmission of yellow fever virus – which is causing an outbreak in Africa – and, in another study published in late April in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Aliota, Osorio and their UW-Madison and Universidad de Antioquia colleagues showed that Wolbachia prevents Colombian Aedes aegypti from transmitting chikungunya virus.

The reality of the House bill tells a different story, however. Its analysis concluded that the legislation “provided funds that would potentially help clinics and hospitals in almost every municipality on the island”.

“These CDC funds will enable states and territories to strengthen their Zika preparedness and response plans”. A vaccine might be produced “quickly” with adequate funding, he said.