[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 25 (Thursday, February 11, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE GLOBAL ZIKA EPIDEMIC

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 11, 2016

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in 1947, in a remote area of 
Uganda, scientists discovered a previously unknown virus among the 
rhesus monkey population. They called it the Zika virus for the forest 
in which it was found. It is endemic to Africa and Southeast Asia.
   Scientists know that the Zika virus, like dengue fever and 
chikungunya, is spread almost exclusively through the bite of an Aedes 
species mosquito, an aggressive daytime biter. These mosquitoes had 
been significantly diminished in this hemisphere, certainly in the 
United States, until the recent resurgence of dengue and chikungunya 
disease. We know a great deal about these disease vectors, but there is 
much scientists admit they don't know about the Zika virus itself.
   Lack of knowledge and misinformation has stoked apprehension and 
fear among many.
   According to the World Health Organization (WHO) some of the reasons 
we don't know more about this disease include:
   A relatively small proportion (about 1 in 4) of infected people 
develop symptoms;
   A virus that is only detectable for a few days in infected people's 
blood;
   The failure of current tests to definitively distinguish Zika from 
similar viruses, such as dengue and chikungunya.
   The WHO recommends that all people in areas with potentially 
infected mosquitoes, especially pregnant women, wear protective 
clothing and repellants and stay indoors to the extent possible with 
windows closed or screened. Pregnant women are urged to postpone travel 
to affected areas or to diligently protect against mosquito bites if 
travel is unavoidable.
   Currently no therapeutics exist to treat Zika virus nor is there a 
vaccine--but that gap need not be forever. One of our witnesses at 
yesterday's hearing--Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of NIH's allergy and 
infectious diseases institute explained the scope of NIH research on 
the Zika virus as well vector control. Lessons learned from years of 
malaria vector control have applicability to Zika. Our two other 
distinguished witnesses included Dr. Thomas Frieden and Ariel Pablos-
Mendez, Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID.
   The U.S. Government has for quite some time promoted such tactics as 
insecticide-laced mosquito nets, window and door screens, small pool 
and container drainage and the use of strong but safe pesticides to 
eradicate mosquitoes. However, our programs largely are tailored for 
developing countries. With the reemergence of dengue fever and 
chikungunya in the southern United States, we have to step up our 
domestic efforts to control mosquitoes before warmer weather leads to 
an explosion of the mosquito population during an imminent epidemic in 
the homeland.
   According to Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, Ambassador of Brazil 
to the United States, the Brazilian government has deployed 220,000 
troops and 300,000 health agents to fight the vector of the infection 
by visiting communities to educate the population and help eliminate 
all mosquito breeding grounds.
   Experts cite possible links with the Zika infection of pregnant 
mothers and disorders affecting their unborn children, although they--
including our witnesses yesterday--are quick to point out that no 
definitive proof of such a linkage.
   According to Brazil's Ambassador Machado, ``Microcephaly in newborn 
babies can also be caused by a number of other diseases. Health experts 
are dealing with something new: the link between Zika and microcephaly 
is unprecedented in the scientific literature and requires in-depth 
studies and analyses. . . .''
   In fact, in announcing the administration's proposal for a 
supplemental sum of $1.8 billion to fund efforts to combat the Zika 
virus, the White House statement said there ``may'' be a connection 
between the Zika virus and disorders experienced by newborns in 
affected countries.
   Dr. Marcos Espinal, Director of Communicable Diseases and Health 
Analysis at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), said there is 
a broad spectrum of impacts for microcephaly.
   A fact sheet on microcephaly in Boston Children's Hospital notes 
that ``Some children with microcephaly have normal intelligence and 
experience no particular difficulty with schoolwork, physical activity, 
relationships or any other aspect of their lives. However, many 
children with the disease--especially those with more severe cases--
face: mild to significant learning disabilities, impaired motor 
functions, difficulty with movement and balance, speech delays.''
   In the meantime, we must work harder to prevent maternal infections 
and devise compassionate ways to ensure that any child born with 
disabilities from this or any other infection is welcomed, loved and 
gets the care he or she needs. USAID's Ariel Pablos-Mendez testified 
yesterday that we need to expand ``best practices for supporting 
children with microcephaly.'' In like manner, parents of children with 
disabilities need to be tangibly supported.
   Ana Carolina Caceres, a Brazilian journalist born with microcephaly, 
told the BBC's Ricardo Senra in a February 5 interview that the 
condition ``is a box of surprises. You may suffer from serious problems 
or you may not . . . On the day I was born, the doctor said I had no 
chance of survival. `She will not walk, she will not talk . . .' But 
he--like many others--was wrong. I grew up, went to school, went to 
university. Today I am a journalist and I write a blog . . . People 
need to put their prejudices aside and learn about this syndrome.''
   The hearing yesterday looked into the implications of the current 
and long-term threat from the Zika virus, and we assembled expert 
infectious health leaders from the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Agency for 
International Development to help us do so.
   For more than four years, I have been urging passage of my bill the 
End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act--H.R. 1797. The full Foreign 
Affairs Committee approved it last month. Since 2011, we've accelerated 
our discussions on the need for more study and funded efforts to 
identify tropical diseases and find diagnostics, vaccines and 
treatments of such illnesses.
   At that time, West Nile virus was quietly making its way across the 
globe, including the United States, from its origins in East Africa.
   Ebola virus, first discovered in a remote area of Central Africa in 
1976, caused a global health crisis only two years ago.
   For the second consecutive year, the administration has slashed 
funding for global health accounts in the budget proposal released this 
week, including a 19 percent cut for global program on tuberculosis--
the world's leading infectious disease killer. Additionally, the 
administration is being short-sighted with regard to Neglected Tropical 
Diseases, cutting that program by nearly 15 percent. In the face of the 
waves of infectious disease epidemics in recent years, including multi-
drug resistant tuberculosis, West Nile virus, Ebola and now Zika, the 
administration's habitual disregard of the increasing danger from 
infectious diseases is simply inexplicable.
   Zika has now joined the ranks of previously little-known diseases 
that have created global alarm.
   Before the next explosive health crisis appears, we must provide 
sufficient resources to the study of tropical diseases. H.R. 1797 
authorizes the creation of Centers of Excellence to study every aspect 
of these dreaded diseases.
   Zika virus is the latest crisis but won't be the last.

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