From Ultrasounds To Speech Therapy: Zika’s Long-Term Price Tag Incalculable
Treating the virus and its effects will likely cost billions upon billions of dollars for 2016 alone. But so many unknowns remain about the long-term price tag. In other news, a research team has received the go-ahead to begin testing a vaccine on humans, Florida officials are testing local mosquitoes for the virus, and an infectious disease expert weighs in on the investigation into the first possible U.S.-based case of Zika.
Modern Healthcare:
Costs Of Zika Among The Many Unknowns Of The Virus
History buffs and infectious disease experts have already drawn links between the rubella outbreak in the 1960s and the current spread of Zika. But drugmakers today face greater regulatory hurdles, and the federal government has yet to dedicate funding to address the Zika epidemic. That means a vaccine and successful methods to stop transmission of the virus may be a long time coming — factors that affect how much the U.S. may end up spending on combating and dealing with the effects of the disease. (Muchmore, 7/20)
The Associated Press:
Quebec Team To Begin Zika Vaccine Tests On Humans
A Quebec City-based research team has received the green light to begin testing a Zika vaccine on humans in collaboration with U.S.-based partners. The researchers based at Universite Laval are the first in Canada to be authorized by Canada's federal health agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical tests. The university is one of three sites that hope to begin testing a vaccine for the mosquito-borne virus in the next few days. (7/20)
The Associated Press:
Florida Mosquitoes Being Tested For Zika To Confirm Case
Florida health officials have trapped mosquitoes in an area of Miami-Dade County and are testing them for Zika to confirm whether a woman with the virus could be the first person infected directly by a mosquito bite in the continental United States. Florida's Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not immediately respond to questions about their investigation, but health officials said the case had no apparent connection to travel outside the country. (7/21)
Health News Florida:
Infectious Disease Expert Offers Insight Into Zika Investigation
Florida health department officials have been tight-lipped about the investigation into a possible locally-transmitted case of Zika virus in Miami-Dade County.
The Florida Department of Health officials said the case currently under investigation is not travel-related but they haven’t gone into detail about what’s involved in the investigation itself. (Mack, 7/20)
