Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Florida Officials Investigating First Possible Non-Travel Related Zika Case In U.S.
The Washington Post: Florida Is Checking Possible Local Case Of Zika
The Florida health department said late Tuesday that it is investigating what could be the first case of locally spread Zika virus in the continental United States. In a brief statement, the department said it is "actively conducting an epidemiological investigation" of a non-travel-related case in Miami-Dade County in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Sun, 7/19)
The New York Times: Florida Investigates Possible First Homegrown Case Of Zika Virus In U.S.
It would be the first time the Zika virus had been transmitted locally by mosquitoes in the United States. There are about 1,300 cases of Zika in the continental United States; nearly all were contracted by a mosquito bite abroad or through sex with someone who had become infected in another country. (Tavernise, 7/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Florida Health Officials Investigate Possible Case Of Locally Acquired Zika
Florida’s announcement comes one day after Utah health officials disclosed that they are trying to determine how a family member of a man who had been infected with Zika got the disease himself. The family member—identified as the man’s son, according to people familiar with the matter—didn’t travel to an area where Zika was circulating, nor have sexual contact with an infected person. He did care for his acutely ill father, however. (McKay, 7/19)
Health News Florida: State Investigating Possible Non-Travel Zika Case In Miami-Dade County
So far, Florida has reported more than more than 320 cases of the Zika virus. But all of the patients diagnosed have been infected while traveling abroad, in areas where Zika is more prevalent. (Ochoa, 7/19)
Stat: Zika Case In Florida Could Have Come From Local Mosquito, A First In Continental US
Most experts believe that any local spread of the virus will be contained, nothing like the wide spread that has been seen in Latin America and the Caribbean. Related viruses also spread by Aedes mosquitoes, including dengue and chikungunya, have had limited impact in the US, with just a few reported cases of local transmission of those viruses in Florida and South Texas. (Joseph, 7/19)
Orlando Sentinel: Zika Update: 3 New Cases In Orange County
Three new cases of travel-related Zika have been confirmed in Orange County, according to the Florida Department of Health's daily report on Tuesday. Since early February, when the state health department began reporting Zika infections, Orange County has had 33 travel-related cases. Osceola has had 15 cases, Seminole nine cases, and Lake County one case. (Miller, 7/19)
Meanwhile, at the Republican National Convention Democrats are blamed for the lack of Zika funding, and Congress leaving town without funding Zika battle may be the new normal when it comes to public health crises —
Stat: In Convention Speech, McConnell Blames Democrats For Zika Standoff
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used his Republican convention speech Tuesday night as a platform to blame the Democrats for the Senate’s failure to approve emergency funds to fight the Zika virus. Never mind that the Republicans control the Senate, and that they failed — twice — to work out a funding bill with broad enough support to pass the chamber. In McConnell’s telling, it was the Democrats who prevented the $1.1 billion bill from passing before Congress left for a seven-week recess, so any public health consequences will be their responsibility. (Nather, 7/19)
Morning Consult: Congress Left Without Funding Public Health Crises. Is This Normal?
After three large, nasty funding fights, Congress left for a seven-week recess without giving a cent in emergency appropriations to address the Zika virus, the nation’s opioid epidemic, or the Flint water crisis. The jury is out on whether this is normal. Some observers say this is the new normal, a result of Republican infighting or, alternatively, Democrats’ self-perceived desire to score political points by picking a funding fight. Others say it’s always been this way. By definition, emergency funding isn’t that common. If there’s anything easy to agree on, it’s that public health dollars have taken up an abnormal amount of Congress’s time since the beginning of the calendar year. (Owens, 7/19)
