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President Obama received a briefing from top government health officials on the Zika virus Tuesday, and urged faster research to develop better diagnostic tests and vaccines to stop the spread of the virus, the White House announced. (Nather, 1/26)

President Barack Obama on Tuesday called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments to fight the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and could spread to the United States in warmer months. U.S. health officials are stepping up efforts to study the link between Zika virus infections and birth defects, citing a recent study estimating the virus could reach regions where 60 percent of the U.S. population lives. (Steenhuysen and Rampton, 1/27)

The U.S. government is beginning research into a possible vaccine for the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is suspected of causing an unusual birth defect as it spreads in Latin America. Don’t expect protection anytime soon — vaccine development typically takes years. (Neergaard, 1/26)

The outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil and other countries has raised concern that the pathogen could start spreading widely in the United States, as well. But federal health officials and other infectious disease specialists say so far that seems unlikely. "Based on what we know right now, we don't think that widespread transmission in the United States is likely," says Dr. Beth Bell, director of National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stein, 1/26)

Although no one has yet contracted the mosquito-borne Zika virus in South Florida, history shows a familiar pattern. The type of mosquito capable of carrying and spreading the disease, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is not uncommon in South Florida. It’s the same mosquito that has transmitted the tropical diseases of yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya, pronounced chik-en-gun-ye and characterized by high fever. (Teproff, 1/26)