On April 22, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas listened to Texas Medical Center doctors and Houston city officials break down research efforts on the Zika virus as mosquito season gets underway. The roundtable discussion was held at Texas Children’s Hospital and included a tour of the lab where research is being done and where Texas Children’s and Houston Methodist Hospital developed the nation’s first hospital-based rapid test for the Zika virus.
The virus, which has spread rapidly through Central and South America in the last year, is transmitted between humans primarily through mosquito bites. People may not realize they’ve been infected with Zika virus because the majority of people will develop an asymptomatic or mild flu-like infection. However, the virus has heightened concern among pregnant women since it may increase the risk of microcephaly, a rare neurological birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads.
While there is no vaccine to protect against Zika infection, doctors are encouraging people, particularly pregnant women, to refrain from traveling to areas where the outbreak is growing. The only way to prevent infection is to avoid getting mosquito bites.
Cornyn said what he learned from the roundtable discussion was that the risk of under reacting to the Zika virus is too high and that the virus will be a problem in the United States if it is not stopped in Central and South America. As a result, he said he will recommend to Congress that action continue to be taken and that dollars continue to be allocated to taking a look at what needs to be done to stop what he called a devastating virus.
“We need to make sure we remain vigilant,” Cornyn said. “And, thanks to the great scientists and medical professionals we have here in Houston, Texas and around the country, I’m confident we will be at the cutting edge of new discoveries that will help public health across the globe.”
Click here to read excerpts from the roundtable discussion and here for more information on the Zika virus.