Desperate Local Officials Hungry For Newly Approved Zika Funds
During Congress' months-long battle, local health departments had to beg and borrow money to cover their Zika response efforts. Now they might finally be able to get some help. In other news, the CDC warns that men exposed to Zika should wait at least six months before trying to have a child, a study finds that complications for children who contract the virus after birth are rare, and more stories.
The Washington Post:
U.S. Health Officials Are Itching To Use The Zika Funds They’ve Begged For All Year
Congress took nearly eight months to send money to help fight a dire public health threat. Now that lawmakers have approved $1.1 billion, health officials say the funds can't arrive quickly enough to make up for lost time. "The point is to make sure that it reaches the local health department,” said Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson. “When it gets down to it, all public health is local when you are responding to an outbreak.” (Sun and Dennis, 9/30)
Health News Florida:
Questions Remain As To How, When Federal Zika Funds Will Be Distributed To Florida
A measure signed into law by President Obama includes money to help combat the Zika virus. Florida is expected to be one of the areas to get a large amount of the funds. That’s in addition to the millions of dollars in state money Governor Rick Scott has already set aside in the Zika fight. But, questions now remain about when and how the funds will be distributed to help affected Floridians. (Cordner, 9/30)
NPR:
CDC Tells Men Exposed To Zika To Delay Getting A Partner Pregnant
Men who may have been exposed to the Zika virus should wait at least six months before trying to conceive a child with a partner, regardless of whether they ever had any symptoms, federal health officials are recommending. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously recommended that only men with Zika symptoms had to wait that long. Those who may have been exposed to Zika but never developed any symptoms were told to hold off on trying to conceive for just eight weeks. (Stein, 9/30)
Morning Consult:
CDC Lengthens Suggested Time Couples With Zika Risk Should Wait Before Pregnancy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says couples with possible Zika risk should wait much longer before trying to get pregnant. The agency said Friday that couples in which the man has possibly been exposed to Zika but is not displaying symptoms should wait six months before trying to get pregnant, rather than eight weeks as the agency previously advised. (McIntire, 9/30)
The Hill:
Couples With Zika Risk Told To Wait Much Longer To Become Pregnant
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is stepping up its warnings about the Zika virus for couples trying to become pregnant. CDC officials said Friday that women should wait at least six months before trying to get pregnant if their partner has possible Zika exposure. The previous recommendation had been eight weeks. (Ferris, 9/30)
The New York Times:
Children Who Get Zika After Birth Tend Not To Fall Seriously Ill, Study Finds
Serious complications are rare among children infected with the Zika virus after birth, federal health researchers concluded in a study published on Friday — a rare bright spot in the unfolding story of the epidemic. (Saint Louis and McNeil, 9/30)
Orlando Sentinel:
Zika Update: Orange County Gets 3 New Cases; CDC Updates Pre-Pregnancy And Sex Recommendations
Three new travel-related Zika cases in Orange County were confirmed by the state health department on Friday, bringing the county's total to 84. Since earlier this year, Osceola County has reported 30 travel-related Zika cases, while Seminole has reported 21 and Lake has reported 3. (Miller, 10/3)
Health News Florida:
Zika Mystery: How Did A 73-Year-Old Man Infect His Son?
Zika wasn't even on Dr. Sankar Swaminathan's mind when he first examined a severely ill 73-year-old man in a Salt Lake City hospital in June. The patient had just returned from a visit to Mexico when he suddenly fell violently ill. "We were not thinking about Zika at all because Zika usually does not cause severe illness, in fact it almost never does," says Swaminathan, chief of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Utah. (Beaubien, 9/30)
The Newnan Times-Herald:
City Quietly Ends Mosquito Fogging Program
As summer melts away, one traditional feature was absent this year, nighttime mosquito fogging truck trips noisily sputtering up and down Newnan streets. The city of Newnan has been spraying for mosquitoes for many years. Exactly how many years seems to be lost in the mists of time, but it has been at least 25 years. But late in the summer of 2015, the city quietly suspended its “low volume fogging” mosquito control program in response to a campaign by No Spray Newnan, a group of local residents who advocated for a better way to control mosquitoes, and asked for their own yards not to be sprayed. (Campbell, 10/1)