Expert Demoted After Raising Concerns About Efficacy Of CDC’s Zika Test
Robert Lanciotti says the test the agency recommends misses nearly 40 percent of Zika infections. He has since been reinstated after filing a whistleblower retaliation claim.
The Washington Post:
CDC Whistleblower Claims Agency Has Been Using Wrong Zika Test
In the midst of the fight to control Zika, the top public health agency in the United States has been engaged in an intense internal debate about the best way to test whether someone has been infected with the mosquito-borne virus. At the center of the debate at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of the leading experts on Zika virus. Robert Lanciotti is chief of the CDC lab responsible for developing tests to diagnose viral diseases such as Zika that are transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. Lanciotti was demoted in May after he raised concerns inside and outside the agency about the CDC’s decision in the spring to recommend a new test for Zika. (Sun, 9/27)
In other Zika news —
Tampa Bay Times:
Results From Gov. Scott's Emergency Zika Research Is Years Away
The results of an emergency research push for a Zika vaccine announced last week by Gov. Rick Scott likely won't come to fruition for years. Members of the state Biolmedical Research Advisory Council have been asked to get the grant program off the ground in the next four months with a three-year timeline for the projects that ultimately will be funded by the Department of Health. ... Last Thursday, Scott announced the grant program, a rare use of his power under a state of public health emergency declared in February as travel-related cases of Zika first arrived in Florida. He set aside $25 million primarily for research into a vaccine and more efficient Zika tests. (Auslen, 9/27)
Miami Herald:
Zika Virus: Miami-Dade Mayor Will Release Zika Mosquito Trap Locations Unless State Prohibits It
Miami-Dade County on Wednesday will release the locations of mosquito traps that captured Zika-positive insects in Miami Beach, the result of a public dispute between state and local officials after the Miami Herald filed a lawsuit seeking the information. The word came Tuesday evening, an hour after Gov. Rick Scott and Surgeon General Celeste Philip agreed that Miami-Dade can release the trap locations. (Flechas, 9/27)
Tampa Bay Times:
Bay Area Zika Investigation Closed With No Further Cases Found
At least for now, Tampa Bay is considered officially Zika-free. Florida Department of Health officials announced Tuesday that they have closed the active investigation into the region's first locally transmitted case of the virus that has been linked to birth defects.The patient was a Tampa Fire Rescue firefighter who lived in Pinellas, triggering a scramble by health departments on both sides of the bay to contain a potential outbreak. (O'Donnell, 9/27)
