Health Officials Around The Nation Talk Zika Preps In The U.S.
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Health officials from around the country are getting ready for the Zika Virus and the goal for them is to prepare the most at risk states.
More than 300 federal, state and local health officials gathered at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to talk about just that.
"Working through action plans for every jurisdiction that is affected. That means making sure they are preparing to monitor and respond," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden.
Frieden says the response is critical to protect pregnant women and their babies. The virus is linked to a rare birth defect called microcephaly that causes newborns to be born with abnormally small heads.
But federal officials said they can't fight Zika if congress doesn't approve the $1.9 billion aid package that the president requested.
"The money we have is not enough. Congress needs to act and do its job," said White House Homeland Security Advisor Amy Pope.
So far, a Zika infected mosquito hasn't passed the virus on to any person in the continental U.S. but there have been 312 travel related cases. Of those cases, six were sexually transmitted, 27 were in pregnant women and one person developed a rare neurological disorder.
In Florida, 79 cases of the virus have been reported. All of the cases are travel-associated meaning they were not acquired in the U.S.
Texas is considered a high risk state. Dallas County Health Department Director Zachary Thompson said his workers are going door to door to get the word out.
"These mosquitos are centered around our homes, and so each individual resident has to take responsibility to make sure they remove standing water," said Thompson.
Zika is already spreading quickly in Puerto Rico and health officials are concerned hundreds of thousands of people could be infected with Zika in the coming months.
Back on February 3rd, Florida Governor Rick Scott directed the State Surgeon General to issue a Declaration of Public Health Emergency for the counties of residents with travel-associated cases of Zika
The Declaration currently includes Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Clay, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Santa Rosa, Seminole and St. Johns.
The Florida Department of Health has activated a Zika Virus Information Hotline that can be reached at 1-855-622-6735.
