Tag Archives: Zika Virus

CDC to provide $16 million more to fight Zika locally

Warning of mosquitoes carrying disease by CDC

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is making available more than $16 million to states and territories in their fight against the Zika virus, in addition to the $25 million it had sanctioned in July.

The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.

U.S. health officials on Monday warned pregnant women to avoid traveling to a neighborhood in Miami after the Florida government said it had identified 10 more cases of Zika caused by the bite of local mosquitoes, bringing the total to 14.

The new funding – for 40 states and territories – will be used to provide real-time data about the epidemic as it unfolds in the United States and help those affected by the virus, the CDC said on Tuesday.

Last month, the agency provided $25 million to 53 states, cities and territories as part of its ‘preparedness and response’ funding to areas at risk for outbreaks.

(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Florida has identified 10 more Zika cases; calls in feds for help

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen at the Laboratory of Entomology and Ecology of the Dengue Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The state of Florida has identified 10 more cases of Zika virus caused by local mosquitoes and has asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send in experts to help with the investigation of the outbreak.

The state now has a total of 14 cases of Zika caused by locally transmitted mosquitoes, according to a statement issued on Monday by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

The Florida Department of Health said it believes active transmission of Zika is restricted to one small area in Miami-Dade County, just north of downtown Miami.

The health department said six of the 10 new cases are asymptomatic and were identified through the door-to-door community survey and testing that it is conducting.

Scott said the state has called on the CDC to activate a CDC Emergency Response Team to assist the Florida Department of Health and other partners in their investigation, sample collection and mosquito control efforts.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Trott)

More locally transmitted ZIKA in U.S. expected

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen inside Oxitec laboratory in Campinas, Brazil,

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States will likely see more cases of local Zika virus transmission going forward, a U.S. health official warned on Sunday, although it is unlikely to turn into a broader situation as seen in Brazil or Puerto Rico.

The comments comes after Florida authorities on Friday reported the first sign of local transmission in the continental United States, concluding that mosquitoes likely infected four people with the virus that can cause a serious birth defect.

“We definitely don’t take this lightly. This is something we always anticipated and prepared for the worst,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during CBS’ “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. “But we do not feel this is going to turn into that broadly disseminated situation that we’ve seen in Brazil or that we’re seeing in Puerto Rico.”

He added that this is in “stark contrast” to Puerto Rico, where conditions will lead to a major outbreak.

Fauci said that health authorities are working to reduce mosquitoes in affected areas, and encouraged individuals to stay indoors, cover up and use insect repellant.

He added that “phase one” trials of one contender of the Zika vaccine will likely start in coming weeks. If that’s successful, there will be wider trials beginning early 2017.

(Reporting by Catherine Ngai; Editing by Sandra Maler)

FDA takes steps to protect blood supply in Florida amid Zika probe

man having blood drawn

By Julie Steenhuysen and Toni Clarke

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered blood banks in Florida’s two most densely populated counties to stop collecting blood as health officials determine whether Zika has begun transmission in the continental United States.

Florida has been investigating four possible cases of local transmission in Miami-Dade County and Broward County. It is the first U.S. state to report cases that may not be related to travel to other countries with active outbreaks.

Zika has struck hardest in Brazil, where the outbreak was first detected last year, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas. The virus can cause a rare birth defect, microcephaly, in newborns whose mothers have been infected, and is believed to be linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults.

Zika most commonly infects people via mosquito bite. But reports of the virus being transmitted through sex and blood transfusions has prompted public health officials to recommend additional precautions for sexual partners and blood banks.

In a statement posted online on Wednesday, the FDA said blood centers in the two Florida counties should stop collecting blood until they can test each unit or put in place technology that can kill pathogens in the blood.

The FDA also recommended that nearby counties implement the same measures as it moves to prevent transmission of the virus through the blood supply.

OneBlood, Florida’s biggest blood collection center, said it will begin testing all of its collections for Zika virus, effective July 29, using an investigational screening test and that it is working as quickly as possible to comply with the FDA’s request.

The FDA has authorized the emergency use of several investigational Zika screening tests, including products made by Hologic Inc and Roche Holding AG.

The agency has also approved a pathogen inactivation technology made by Cerus Corp that kills the virus in blood platelets and plasma. The company is conducting clinical trials to show it can also kill pathogens in red blood cells.

The United States uses roughly 12 million units of red cells, four million plasma units and two million units of platelets a year.

Unlike oxygen-carrying red blood cells, which can be kept for 42 days in a refrigerator, or plasma, which keeps for a year if frozen, platelets have a shelf life of just four to seven days.

Platelets in general tend to be scarce because there are fewer donors. It can take up to two hours to extract platelets using an apheresis machine, said Dr. Richard Benjamin, chief medical officer for Cerus. And because of their short shelf life hospitals typically do not keep much surplus.

It can be hard to source them from elsewhere, too. By the time they are flown from one place to another they may only have two days of life left.

“All we need is a few more Zika hotspots and there will be a shortage of platelets across the country,” Benjamin said.

The FDA’s action follows Florida’s announcement on Wednesday that it had identified two additional Zika cases – one more in each county – that were not related to travel to an area where the virus is being transmitted.

A CDC spokesman said on Wednesday that “evidence is mounting to suggest local transmission via mosquitoes” in South Florida, noting that the cases fit transmission patterns seen with prior mosquito-borne outbreaks such as Chikungunya.

FDA said it will continue to monitor the situation in Florida in cooperation with the CDC and state public health authorities and provide updates as additional information becomes available.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Doctors devise care plan for babies as Zika threat looms in U.S.

mosquito under microscope

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) – As U.S. public health officials try to determine whether Zika has arrived in the country, doctors are establishing guidelines on how to care for the rising number of babies whose mothers were infected with the virus during pregnancy.

Florida said it is investigating two possible cases of Zika not related to travel to an area where Zika is active, raising the possibility of the first incidence of local transmission of the mosquito-borne virus.

On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health said it was investigating a non travel-related case of Zika in Broward County, marking the second such case. Florida has asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assist in its investigation that must also rule out sexual transmission.

So far, 400 pregnant women in the continental United States have evidence of Zika infection, up from 346 from a week ago, the CDC reported on Thursday. All of those were related to travel or sex with an infected person who had traveled.

Three more babies have been born in the United States with birth defects linked to Zika infections in their mothers, bringing the total to 12, CDC said.

Zika has been proven to cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect marked by small head size and undersized brains that requires a complex network of care providers and social workers to treat and provide support to parents.

But microcephaly is just the tip of the iceberg, according to experts speaking at a CDC-sponsored workshop on Thursday. They said many babies exposed in utero who appear normal at birth may have developmental problems down the road, including hearing and vision problems.

For example, babies born without a functional sucking reflex may never develop the ability to swallow and will need to be fed through a feeding tube. These infants will have a higher risk of pneumonia, said Dr. Edwin Trevathan, a pediatrician and child neurologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Less obvious damage to structures on only one side of the brain may cause seizure disorders that do not appear until adolescence, Trevathan said.

Pediatric experts at the workshop are reviewing the potential consequences of Zika infection and plan to make recommendations on ways to treat Zika-exposed infants.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly that it considers related to Zika infections in the mothers.

FLORIDA PROBE

The recommendations come as Florida officials investigate what may be the first cases of Zika in the continental United States caused by the bite of a local mosquito.

Florida officials will not elaborate on how a resident of Miami was infected and whether the first case under investigation was related to mosquitoes.

“We continue to investigate and have not ruled out travel or sexual transmission at this time,” Florida spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said in an email on Thursday. However, she said the state still suspects the case is not related to travel to a Zika-infected area.

The White House on Wednesday released a statement saying President Barack Obama had spoken to Florida Governor Rick Scott regarding a suspected case of mosquito transmission of Zika and promised more money to fight the virus.

At the Zika workshop, Dr. Marc Fischer, chief of surveillance and epidemiology activity at the arboviral diseases branch of the CDC, said the agency has worked with state health departments to establish strategies to identify possible local transmission in the United States.

“When and if there is a case of local transmission, we work with local health departments to identify additional cases to define the geographic scope of the outbreak,” he said.

That includes surveying households and neighbors within a 150-yard radius around the residence of the person who has Zika.

“That’s basically the flying radius of the vector mosquitoes,” he said.

According to the U.S. Zika response plan, Zika local transmission is defined as two or more cases not due to travel or sex with an infected person that occur in a one-mile diameter over the course of a month.

CDC has given Florida $2 million for Zika preparedness, and on Thursday awarded another $5.6 million to assist the state with Zika as part of an additional $60 million in Zika funds to states announced on Thursday. U.S. lawmakers so far have not approved any of the White House’s $1.9 billion request for Zika.

CDC plans to award another $10 million to states and territories on Aug. 1 to speed identification of microcephaly and other birth defects linked to Zika.

(Additional reporting by Bill Berkrot in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)

U.S. Congress shrugs off guns, Zika as summer break nears

House Majority Leader

By Richard Cowan and David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress is headed for a seven-week recess without addressing gun violence, the Zika virus outbreak and other pressing issues, amid persistent election-year bickering.

Despite recent gun violence, the House of Representatives will not vote this week on a proposal to keep firearms out of the hands of people on terrorism watch lists, that chamber’s Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday.

Similarly, President Barack Obama’s request for $1.9 billion in funds to combat the Zika virus and the birth defects it can cause has been stalled in Congress since February.

Republicans and Democrats were also at odds over spending bills that would keep the government functioning beyond Sept. 30, when current fiscal year funding expires.

When Republicans took over control of Congress, they vowed to get things done, but have had difficulty doing so during this election year, failing to pass a budget or even consider Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill a Supreme Court vacancy.

It did, however, approve bipartisan legislation helping Puerto Rico climb out of a crippling debt crisis and is trying to make progress on legislation aimed at improving police relations with local communities in the aftermath of gun violence.

With only four days left before the start of an unusually long recess, a failure to vote on guns this week would postpone any possible action by the House on the issue until Sept. 6 at the earliest. That is when lawmakers will return from break.

After that, lawmakers will be working only for short stints ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential and congressional elections.

A June 12 mass shooting in Orlando and gun violence in Dallas and other cities has again propelled gun control to prominence, but the National Rifle Association and its allies in Congress so far have staved off even bipartisan legislation.

Gun control is generally opposed by Republicans and supported by Democrats. Some Republicans have talked about a gun bill possibly moving through Congress in the fall, in the midst of the campaign season, but Democrats were skeptical.

“This Congress will do nothing on curbing gun violence,” Representative Xavier Becerra of California, a member of the House Democratic leadership, told reporters.

There is even disagreement about whether House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi talked about a Democratic proposal to establish a special committee on gun violence. Democrats say Pelosi raised the issue with Ryan after the Dallas shootings. Ryan’s office says he has never discussed the topic with anyone.

Republicans in the House and Senate have signed off on a $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, but Democrats are balking over what they see as “poison pills” attached to the money that would deny funds to women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood and ease some environmental provisions.

House Speaker Paul Ryan meanwhile showcased his “A Better Way” agenda, flashing a glossy pamphlet at a press conference listing a set of proposals designed to lure votes in November’s elections but do nothing this year legislatively.

Republicans have also pushed for new federal probes of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, on her use of private emails while secretary of state.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, David Morgan and Kouichi Shirayanagi; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish)

U.S. to fund Zika virus study of U.S. Olympic team

Mosquitoes being studied for Zika

By Bill Berkrot

(Reuters) – The U.S. National Institutes of Health said it will fund a study to monitor U.S. athletes, coaches and members of the Olympic Committee staff for exposure to Zika virus while in Brazil, with the hope of gaining better understanding of how it persists in the body and the potential risks it poses.

The study, announced on Tuesday, seeks to determine the incidence of Zika virus infection, identify potential risk factors for infection, evaluate how long the virus remains in bodily fluids, and study reproductive outcomes of Zika-infected participants.

Brazil, which has been hardest hit by the mosquito-borne virus spreading across the Americas, will host the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next month.

The virus has caused concern because it can cause potentially severe birth defects in babies whose mothers were infected during pregnancy, including microcephaly – a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to developmental problems. It has also been linked to Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that can cause temporary paralysis in adults.

The study, which hopes to enroll at least 1,000 subjects, is being led by Dr. Carrie Byington of the University of Utah, who earlier this year began a pilot study of 150 participants, a third of whom said they or their partner planned to become pregnant within a year of the Olympics. They will be included in the larger study.

“We will follow individuals who have exposure to Zika virus for up to two years,” Byington said via email. “Because the cohort is anticipated to include primarily individuals in their reproductive years, we will be able to study reproductive health outcomes, including pregnancy outcomes.”

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

Zika is the first known mosquito-borne virus that can also be transmitted via unprotected sex with an infected male partner, leading to imprecise recommendations of how long couples should abstain or refrain from unprotected sex if the woman is pregnant or hoping to become pregnant.

Study participants will provide samples of bodily fluids to be tested for Zika and related viruses, such as dengue, which will help identify people who are infected but asymptomatic. As many as 80 percent of those who contract Zika do not display the classic symptoms, such as fever, rash and red eyes, researchers have said.

The U.S. Olympic study could help answer some of the big unknowns surrounding Zika, particularly the relative risks of asymptomatic versus symptomatic infections, and how long the virus remains present and transmittable in semen.

“We hope to identify risk factors and protective measures that may help other travelers avoid infection,” Byington said.

The USOC had previous said it will provide several months worth of condoms to its athletes and staff heading to Brazil for the games.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Zika sexual transmitting research begins despite funding setbacks

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen inside Oxitec laboratory in Campinas, Brazil

By Bill Berkrot

(Reuters) – It could take years to learn how long men infected with Zika are capable of sexually transmitting the virus, which can cause crippling birth defects and other serious neurological disorders.

In the meantime, health officials have warned couples to refrain from unprotected sex for six months after a male partner is infected. The extraordinary recommendation, based on a single report of Zika surviving 62 days in semen, could affect millions.

The grave risks associated with Zika, along with its potential reach, are driving U.S. health authorities to pursue research even though funding is mired in Congressional gridlock. A study of sexual transmission risk is one example of science that health officials said can’t wait for politics.

Borrowing money earmarked for other programs, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has started enrolling men infected with Zika in Brazil and Colombia in the study to determine how long the virus remains transmittable in semen. The study could take years to complete, but interim results could help public health officials fine-tune their recommendations on sex.

“We are going out on a limb, but we have to,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. institute, said in an interview. “We can’t say we’re going to wait until we get all the money.”

Public health officials are alarmed by Zika’s transmission versatility, which has the potential to expand its reach. It is primarily spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, as are the dengue and chikungunya viruses.

But at least 10 countries, including the United States and France, have reported Zika infections in people who had not traveled to an outbreak area but whose sexual partners had. This ability to spread through sex could help Zika gain a further foothold outside the warm habitats of its most effective agent, the mosquito.

CAUTION IN LIEU OF ANSWERS

To protect women who are pregnant or trying to conceive, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended couples refrain from unprotected sex for six months – triple the 62 days the virus survived in the semen in one British case study. The World Health Organization recently issued similar guidance.

But such strict advice is not ideal, Dr. Anne Schuchat, a CDC deputy director, said in an interview.

“To tell people not to have sex until we get back to you is not a very satisfying recommendation,” she said. “We would like to have some more understanding of the sexual risk.”

In the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, where more than 2,100 cases of infection have been reported since the start of the year, health officials are passing out Zika protection kits that include bug spray and condoms, along with the recommendation.

But the warning against unprotected sex isn’t going over very well, said Dr. Chris Prue, a CDC behavioral scientist who has studied the response.

“Condoms are not popular in a lot places,” she said. “There’s religious and personal preferences and lots of personal factors in that.”

U.S. lawmakers deadlocked over funding to fight the Zika virus on Tuesday, as Senate Democrats blocked a Republican proposal they said fell short of the challenge posed by the virus and hurt other health priorities. It was unclear when Congress would revisit the request by President Barack Obama for $1.9 billion.

FUNDING PRIORITIES

In the meantime, the White House has diverted more than $500 million earmarked for other projects for urgent Zika initiatives, including those where scientific opportunities will be lost if not acted upon immediately.

One such study will follow children born to women infected with Zika to identify the development of any disabilities not detected at birth. Other projects on the priority list include vaccine development and mosquito eradication.   One study underway will assess whether the risk of transmission is greater from men who experience Zika infection symptoms, such as fever and rash, than from those who don’t. This information is considered vital since most people experience no symptoms.

The study of infected men in Brazil and Colombia will test semen from thousands of men over time to determine how long Zika poses a risk to sexual partners. As long the virus can be grown in a laboratory from semen cell samples, infectious disease experts believe it is potentially contagious.

Zika typically clears the bloodstream about a week after infection, but it has been detected in urine for at least twice as long. Its persistence in semen in the British case study has caused some researchers to draw comparisons to other viruses.

HIV can last in blood and semen indefinitely, and the mosquito-borne West Nile virus can reside in the kidneys and urine for years, researchers said. One patient who survived the deadly Ebola outbreak had evidence of that virus in his semen for 18 months.

“We got very surprised by Ebola that it was hanging around for so long,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

“One of the big questions we have to ask is does Zika also cause a similar type of latency?”

(Additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Lisa Girion)

Funding to fight Zika virus faces uphill battle in U.S. Senate

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen inside Oxitec

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Funding to battle the Zika virus faces a struggle in the U.S. Senate this week, with Democrats scornful of a Republican proposal they say short-changes the challenge posed by the mosquito-borne virus as well as other health priorities.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved the Republican plan providing $1.1 billion to fight the Zika virus. But the proposal drew a veto threat from the White House as it falls short of President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion funding request, and makes $750 million in budget cuts elsewhere.

A Senate procedural vote is expected Tuesday on the Republican plan. But with key minority Senate Democrats opposed, the bill may not clear the procedural hurdle, Senate Democratic aides said. This could delay any action to combat Zika until after next week’s July 4th national holiday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, warned Democrats Monday against opposing the bill, saying that it “represents the last chance we will have to address Zika for weeks.”

Democrats have been urging Republicans for months to agree to more Zika funding, and the Obama administration has already reprogrammed nearly $600 million that had been set aside to fight another virus, Ebola.

But Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said Monday that the minority had “no choice” but to oppose the Republican legislation. Among other things, Democrats were unhappy that the proposal would not allow funding to go to private entities such as the women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults.

The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers.

There have not yet been any cases reported of local transmission of the Zika virus in the continental United States, but there have been more than 1,800 cases of Zika infection reported in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.

Health experts expect local transmission to occur in the continental United States as mosquito season gets underway with warmer weather.

Democrats were upset that $543 million of the $1.1 billion provided by the bill would come from unspent funds set aside for implementing Obamacare in U.S. territories, while $107 million would come from unused funds to fight Ebola.

Another $100 million would come from unused administrative funds at the Department of Health and Human Services.

An earlier bipartisan bill that passed the Senate last month would also have provided $1.1 billion to combat Zika, but without cutting money elsewhere.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Republican lawmakers approve $1.1 billion in new Zika funds

Woman looks at CDC sign

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to $1.1 billion to fight the Zika virus, short-changing President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion funding request and angering Democrats by making other cuts to pay for it.

The House approved a funding deal that had been agreed to on Wednesday by Republicans from both the House and Senate. But the bill’s future was uncertain in the Senate, where the Democratic minority has more power to stop legislation, and Democratic leader Harry Reid has declared his opposition.

“It is a responsible plan that assures the administration will continue to have the needed resources to protect the public,” Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said. Republicans said the deal included funding for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

But the White House said the allocation fell short.

“This plan from congressional Republicans is four months late and nearly a billion dollars short of what our public health experts have said is necessary to do everything possible to fight the Zika virus, and steals funding from other health priorities,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement before the House voted.

Earnest said the Republican plan would limit needed birth control services for women seeking to prevent Zika, which can be spread through unprotected sex — “a clear indication they don’t take seriously the threat from the Zika virus.”

Democrats have been urging Republicans for months to agree to more Zika funding, and the Obama administration has already reprogrammed nearly $600 million that had been set aside to fight Ebola.

House Democrats said they could not go along with the deal because of $750 million in budget cuts elsewhere that the Republicans want to use to pay for the Zika spending.

Senate Democrats also voiced displeasure, clouding the outlook for it passing.

“A narrowly partisan proposal that cuts off women’s access to birth control, shortchanges veterans and rescinds Obamacare funds to cover the cost is not a serious response to the threat from the Zika virus,” Reid said.

Still, Ryan urged the Senate to move on the bill.

According to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, $543 million of the $1.1 billion would come from unspent funds set aside for implementing Obamacare in U.S. territories, while $107 million would come from unused funds to fight another virus, Ebola. Another $100 million would come from unused administrative funds at the Department of Health and Human Services, he said.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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