Blood Tests Show Zika Is Spreading Easily Across Puerto Rico, Endangering Pregnancies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says tests at blood banks across the U.S. territory have shown a steady increase in donors with the Zika virus, which may signal large numbers of serious birth defects if pregnant women are infected. Also, The New York Times explores the lack of follow-up on health guidelines to check pregnant women who have traveled to Zika-infected areas.
Stat:
Zika Virus Spreading Rapidly Across Puerto Rico
There are alarming signs the Zika virus is spreading rapidly in Puerto Rico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday. Blood banks on the island have seen a steady rise in the portion of donations that have to be rejected because they contain Zika virus. Last week, 1.1 percent of the donated units were contaminated. (Branswell, 6/17)
The Associated Press:
CDC: Puerto Rico May See Hundreds Of Zika Birth Defects
Dozens or hundreds of babies in Puerto Rico could develop severe birth defects because of Zika, based on how an outbreak is playing out there, a top US health official said Friday. The island territory has been screening blood donations for the virus since April. Last month’s results suggest there’s been a rapid increase in infections, and officials expect cases to increase through the summer. (Stobbe, 6/17)
CNN:
Puerto Rico Could See Hundreds With Zika Birth Defects, CDC Says
"Based on the best info available, Zika is increasing rapidly in Puerto Rico," [Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Tom] Frieden said. "The importance of this is that thousands of pregnant women could become infected, which could lead to dozens or hundreds of babies born with microcephaly." Microcephaly is a birth defect in which the baby is born with a small head and brain, which often leads to serious developmental delays or even death. (LaMotte, 6/17)
Reuters:
Exclusive: In Zika-Struck Puerto Rico, Trouble Delivering Donated Contraceptives
Only a small fraction of contraceptives donated in Puerto Rico to prevent Zika-related birth defects are expected to get to the women who need them this month, public health officials told Reuters. The donations - tens of thousands of intrauterine devices and birth control pill packs - came from major healthcare companies as the virus spreads rapidly through the island. (Mincer, 6/20)
The New York Times:
As Zika Threat Grows In U.S., Testing Lags For A Vulnerable Group
As the Zika virus swept north from Brazil into the Caribbean, bringing with it frightening risks for pregnant women and their unborn children, United States health officials decided in February that all expectant women who had visited the countries affected should be tested for the disease. But after the guidelines were put in place, public health officials and doctors in New York City found that large numbers of women, many uninsured or low-income immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, were not being screened and tested in a systematic way. (Santora, 6/17)
And news on prevention, testing and public health efforts -
Stat:
Zika Fears Spur A Booming Market For Questionable Products
Entrepreneurs across the country are rushing to turn fears of the Zika virus into a sales tool, flooding the market with a slew of products, some of them unproven and questionable, that promise to keep consumers safe. (Robbins, 6/19)
Reuters:
Hologic Wins Emergency U.S. Authorization For Zika Test
Hologic Inc won emergency U.S. authorization to sell its Zika test, expanding the number of public and private labs that can test for the virus as health officials brace for a rise this summer in the number of infections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the company's Aptima test to detect Zika virus in human serum and plasma specimens. The test will be available for use immediately in every U.S. state as well as Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, the company said. (Clarke, 6/17)
The Associated Press:
As Zika Looms, US Health Officials Worry About The Neighbors
Saron Wyatt pointed to the secluded end of her small street in Houston's impoverished Fifth Ward, where a mound of old tires keeps popping up. Always a trashy nuisance, it's now a growing danger. Tires collect water and become prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes — especially the ones that spread Zika virus disease and other tropical mosquito-borne illnesses. (Merchant and Stobbe, 6/20)
Politico Pro:
West Nile, Zika, Pose Conflicting Priorities For Mosquito Fighters
Amid torrential rains, temperatures soaring above 90 and congressional bickering over cash to fight the Zika virus, mosquito control officers in the Deep South are scrambling to balance preparations for a disease that may not arrive against a deadly foe that hasn’t left. State and local officials in communities from Florida to Texas are hard-pressed just to fund control of mosquito-borne West Nile virus, an endemic disease that last year caused 119 deaths across the country, along with 1,300 cases of brain disease like meningitis and paralysis. (Allen, 6/17)
Health News Florida:
Florida Surgeon General Talks Zika Plans With Limited Budget
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip was in Fort Lauderdale Thursday to give a presentation on the state’s Zika plans to the Broward legislative delegation. Philip said that when people get tested for a Zika diagnosis, mosquito control is alerted to where they live—before the test results come back. “This has been pointed to as a national model,” Philip told the delegation. (Mack, 6/17)
