Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Something's Wrong With Him': A Family Discovers What It Means To Have A Child With Microcephaly
Federal and state health officials are bracing for the Zika virus to turn up in the United States. With summer around the corner, federal officials say it's only a matter of time before Zika-carrying mosquitoes appear in this country. So far, it's swept though South and Central America, into Mexico and across the Caribbean. (Terry, 5/6)
The disorder burst into public view this year with international headlines about the Zika virus in Brazil and the birth of several thousand newborns with severely small heads. But little has been reported about their lives. What are the effects of the condition? (Terry, 5/6)
Media outlets offer coverage of the virus out of the states —
Pending cuts to state funding for mosquito control could pose a problem for the agency that monitors the insects for the Zika virus and other diseases, the director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station said Friday. (Levin Becker, 5/6)
Alabama will never wipe out its mosquito population. Which bites. And while state officials understand they can’t spray the entire state as a way to even attempt to eliminate the insect, they are aggressively moving forward in educating the public should the Zika virus — which is becoming more and more prevalent in South America, Central America and the American territories, including Puerto Rico — make its way to the Yellowhammer State. (Klass, 7/6)
Bio-tech company Oxitec wants to use genetically modified mosquitos to stop the spread of the Zika virus. Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is calling for support of the plan. (Payne, 5/6)
