With Funding From Congress, Health Officials Outline Zika Response : usnews

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With Funding From Congress, Health Officials Outline Zika Response

With Funding From Congress, Health Officials Outline Zika Response

Brazilian and U.S. health workers measure a baby's head at her home in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, as part of a study on the Zika virus and the birth defect microcephaly.(Andre Penner/AP)Federal health officials outlined plans Monday for newly approved emergency funding to combat Zika, which they said would go toward prevention efforts like vaccines as well as studies to better understand how the virus affects babies over the course of their lives.During a call with reporters, officials said the money would allow them to finish what they had already started using funds they had taken from other public health priorities, including substance abuse and mental health programs, cancer research and ongoing Ebola efforts.


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State, Local Health Departments at Mercy of Government Processes to Get Zika Funds

State, Local Health Departments at Mercy of Government Processes to Get Zika Funds

Federal health officials have plans for how they will use the $1.1 billion approved by Congress to respond to the Zika virus, but state and local health agencies waiting for funds will have to wait at least a few more weeks to access money.Agencies will move "as fast as government procedures allow," to distribute the money, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden told reporters during a Monday HHS call that also featured other health officials.Most of the money will be processed in the first several weeks of this quarter, which could mean the "coming couple of months."The funding will go to many initiatives: vaccine and diagnostic test development; helping states prepare for and response to outbreaks by sending out emergency response teams or partnering with local officials; additional research of the disease; expanding mosquito surveillance and control programs; and teaching providers how to treat patients with Zika.


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Zika Health Warning for Men

Zika Health Warning for Men

While women and babies have been at the heart of Zika-related outreach since the virus really took hold, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now reaching out to men.Health officials are asking that if any man has even possible Zika virus exposure, they take precautions and wait to conceive a child until at least six months after symptom onset (if symptomatic) or last possible Zika virus exposure (if asymptomatic).The updated guidelines come as health officials try to stem the tide of infection in the U.S., not only through mosquito bites, but sexual intercourse — the other most known cause of transmission.

State, Local Health Departments at Mercy of Government Processes to Get Zika Funds