Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Officials Release Guidelines For Employers In Effort To Protect Workers From Zika
U.S. health and safety officials issued new guidelines on Friday to help protect workers from exposure to Zika, a mosquito-borne and sexually-transmitted virus that causes the birth defect microcephaly and other neurological disorders. (Steenhuysen, 4/22)
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell will travel to Puerto Rico next week in the administration’s most high-profile attempt to prepare the island and the U.S. mainland for the Zika virus. Puerto Rico already has 448 cases of Zika, and local mosquitoes have the virus, meaning they could spread it directly to people. The CDC estimates the virus could infect as many as 700,000 Puerto Ricans — or 20 percent of the island's population — by the end of the year. (Haberkorn, 4/22)
News outlets also offer coverage of Zika out of the states —
Billy Ryan visits Roy's Trailer Park on Florida's Stock Island every two months. It's part of his regular rounds as an inspector for the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District. "Hey I'm just checking on the yards for the mosquito control," he tells one resident, Marie Baptiste, as he heads into her yard. "OK?" No problem, she tells him. People who live in the Keys are used to seeing mosquito control inspectors. Since an outbreak of dengue fever in 2009, the inspectors have conducted routine house-to-house checks in areas where the Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds. (Klingener, 4/22)
With two new travel-related Zika cases and 15 total, Broward County trails Miami-Dade, which now has 39 cases. Florida is reporting a total of 93 Zika cases, five of which are in pregnant women, and three that are still showing symptoms. (Miller, 4/22)
A pregnant San Francisco woman who had recently been in Central America tested positive for the Zika virus, public health officials said Friday. The woman has experienced no symptoms of Zika, but got tested because of known risks to babies born to women who were infected during pregnancy. Her test came back positive Thursday. (Allday, 4/22)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen met today with health experts from around the state to discuss how New Hampshire is preparing for the Zika virus. (Moon, 4/23)
