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CRS INSIGHT
The Zika Outbreak Is Declared a Public Health
Emergency in Puerto Rico
August 17, 2016 (IN10555)
Related Author
*Sa&rah A Li ter
Sarah A. Lister, Specialist in Public Health and Epidemiology (sl steracrs lc gov, 7-7320)
On August 12, 2016, Sylvia Matthews Burwell, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), declared a publig
health emergency for Puerto Rico [a]s a consequence of the outbreak of Zika virus and its potential effect on pregnant
women and children born to pregnant women with Zika.
Background
The Zika.virs.(ZIKL), first recognized in Uganda in 1947, emerged in South America early in 2015. Although most
cases of infection are mild, prenatalinfection can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly. ZIKV is
transmitted among humans by the bite of an infected mosquito, by sexual contact, from mother to fetus, and through
contaminated blood transfusions. Protecting pregnant women from infection is a public health priority.
ZIKV has spread from South America to Central America and the Caribbean. About 2.000 infections have been reported
on the U.S. mainland, mostly among travelers from countries with widespread mosquito-borne ZIKV transmission. To
date, only one neighborhoo - ilda has experienced local (i.e., mosquito-borne) transmission.
In contrast, PueLrto Rico has been hard hit. Local transmission on the island was first recognized in m r 2015.
Since then, have been reported, more than 1,000 of them in pregnant women. Mosquito control
measures have faltered, and Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), said that data from July showed an explosion of ZIKV cases.
In February 2016 the Administration requested supplemental funding of $1.9 billion for the Zika response, including
primary care, maternal and child health, and Medicaid assistance for Puerto Rico. Congress has considered but not
passed a supplemental appropriation to date, and HHS has reprogrammed $670 million in funds from other sources for
its domestic and international response efforts.
Figure 1. Portion of a Brochure in Spanish Urging Protection from
Mosquito Bites](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/crsmthabghs0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)