Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Fla. Scrambles To Fight Zika, Concerns Emerge About Chemicals Being Used, Other Strategies
Florida is currently using Naled to combat mosquitoes, but the chemical has been banned in Europe and Puerto Rico. (Mato, 8/24)
So when, several years ago, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District offered up the peninsula of Key Haven, a tiny suburb of Key West, for the first United States test of genetically modified mosquitoes built to blunt the spread of dengue and Zika, it was only a matter of time before opposition mounted. Today, even as federal officials have told pregnant women to stay away from parts of Miami-Dade County because of the Zika virus, Key Haven鈥檚 hardened position against the trial 鈥 or the experiment, as they call it 鈥 is hard to miss amid the bougainvillea and hibiscus flowering on lawns here. 鈥淣o Consent to Release of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes,鈥 red-and-white placards declare. (Alvarez, 8/24)
With the first locally-transmitted case of Zika in Tampa Bay the question on everyone鈥檚 minds is where?Rep. 聽David Jolly, who represents Pinellas County, is pushing for an answer. It took 11 days for officials to say where in Miami the first locally-transmitted cases of Zika were detected. 聽And that was only after the virus had spread. Jolly doesn't want that to happen here. (Ochoa, 8/24)
Being pregnant can be stressful. ... And now, some women and their partners have to consider the risks of Zika, especially in Florida where local mosquitoes have transmitted the virus. Elizabeth Etkin-Kramer is hearing more and more questions about Zika from her patients. She is an OB-GYN whose office is in Miami Beach which is one of the affected areas. (McEvers, 8/24)