First Zika-Linked U.S. Death Reported; Congress Leaves For Recess Without Approving Funding
Doctors say deaths caused by Zika complications are rare. Meanwhile, lawmakers left several unresolved issues, including a compromise that could allocate more than a billion dollars toward efforts to fight the virus, as they left on a week-long break.
The New York Times:
First U.S. Death Tied To Zika Is Reported In Puerto Rico
A Puerto Rican man died from complications of the Zika virus earlier this year, the first reported death attributed to the disease in the United States. The victim, a man in his 70s, died in February from internal bleeding as a result of a rare immune reaction to an earlier Zika infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Puerto Rico now has 683 confirmed Zika infections in its outbreak, which began in December; 89 are in pregnant women, according to Dr. Ana Ríus, the territory’s health secretary. (McNeil and Victor, 4/29)
The Associated Press:
Puerto Rico Reports 1st US Zika-Related Death Amid Outbreak
Officials said the unidentified man recovered from initial Zika symptoms, but then developed a condition in which antibodies that formed in reaction to the Zika infection started attacking blood platelet cells. He died after suffering internal bleeding. [Health Secretary Ana] Rius said the man died less than 24 hours after seeking help at a health center. She said three other cases of the condition known as severe thrombocytopenia have been reported in Puerto Rico, and that those patients recovered successfully. (4/29)
The Hill:
First US Zika Death Reported In Puerto Rico
The agency said he developed severe thrombocytopenia, which is a low blood platelet count, but did not give more details. Deaths from Zika are rare, and health officials say symptoms tend to me mild. Many people develop no symptoms at all. The virus is mainly seen as a threat for pregnant women because it is linked to severe birth defects in babies. (Sullivan, 4/29)
Reuters:
Puerto Rico Zika Cases Now Include 65 Pregnant Women, One Death: CDC
Health officials on Friday confirmed the first U.S. death of a patient infected with the Zika virus in Puerto Rico. The man, who was in his 70s, died from severe thrombocytopenia, a bleeding disorder caused by abnormally low blood platelets, which are needed for blood clotting. (Steenhuysen, 4/29)
The Associated Press:
Congress Heads Out With No Resolution On Zika, Puerto Rico
Congress accomplished relatively little in a short work period, missing deadlines on the budget and on helping Puerto Rico with its financial crisis as lawmakers began a weeklong break. They left behind few clues about how they would address must-do items such as finding money to counter the Zika virus and a second, even scarier July 1 deadline for averting a fiscal disaster in cash-strapped Puerto Rico. Democrats called upon House leaders to modify this spring's three-weeks on, one-week off legislative schedule to keep working, as Puerto Rico hurtles toward a half-billion-dollar default on Sunday. (4/30)
The Des Moines Register:
A Few Zika-Bearing Mosquitoes Could Buzz Into Iowa
Southern mosquitoes could buzz into Iowa this summer, but state experts don't expect them to be a major carrier of the Zika virus. New maps from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show Iowa in the range of one of two mosquito species believed to carry the virus, which causes birth defects. The maps show the Aedes aegypti mosquito’s range petering out in Missouri, but they show the Aedes albopictus mosquito’s range extending through Iowa and into southern Minnesota. (Leys, 4/29)
