Donovan asks: Does U.S. have resources to fight Zika?
In the wake of the World Health Organization’s declaration that the Zika virus is spreading explosively throughout the Americas, U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan has requested information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on how the health care agency plans to protect Americans and if there is anything that Congress can do to help.
Donovan (R-C-Southwest Brooklyn) wrote a letter to Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC, on Feb. 2 to ask how the agency plans to address what the congressman called a shortage of available testing sites for the Zika virus.
“The CDC is the most capable public health organization on the planet. Still, this obscure disease did not threaten the public’s health in any meaningful way until now, and the public has a right to know: Does the government have sufficient capacity to handle increased demand for diagnostic tests? If not, then what does the CDC need from Congress to adequately protect the public’s health?” Donovan asked.
The Zika virus has been confirmed in five patients in New York City, the New York Post reported on Jan. 28.