[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 67 (Friday, April 29, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2136-H2142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE NEWS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to my good friend--and I
think it is important that we note that our colleagues are good friends
and Americans who care. That is why I have come to the floor to
challenge the hearts and minds of my colleagues, for my discussion
today, as the gentleman that preceded me, will be in the Congressional
Record for my colleagues to peruse and for the American people to
peruse.
I do take note of the fact, as the gentleman recounted the history of
budgets--and I might say that I, too, spent time working on the 1997
budget. I have been privileged to serve from that time when a
bipartisan effort--with everyone, in essence, putting down their
obstructionist perspectives--generated one of the best health insurance
programs for our children, called CHIP, that the Nation has seen, that
millions of American children are now insured.
But it is important to note that the present Republican majority
failed to put a budget on the floor for us to vote up or down,
primarily because there were Members in their own conference that would
not vote because the cuts were not sufficient, even though trillions of
dollars were cut from education and many other services that the
American people need.
Now, I know that the American people are very independent. There are
States that have worked very hard to ensure that their particular
citizens in their State are well taken care of, but the one thing I
know about the Federal Government, it is the umbrella on a rainy day.
I will go home to my district, having suffered the terrible impact of
major flooding, 20 inches of rain devastating young families,
devastating people who flooded just less than a year ago in May of
2015. Oh, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, tore out carpet,
threw out all of our personal possessions, but we needed the umbrella,
FEMA, that is en route to my district now to help those who cannot help
themselves or those who had never flooded in 50 years. So we cannot
discount the role of the Federal Government.
The United States military is the finest in the world. The Affordable
Care Act, yes, needs to be fixed in certain areas, but 20 million
Americans have gotten insurance, and more Americans have private
insurance because they said, you know what, it is the right thing to
do.
[[Page H2137]]
So it troubles me when we talk about a budget that should have been
put on the floor that was a combination of the efforts of Democrats and
Republicans, and when we listen to the President and work together, but
no budget has come because they realize the draconian budget that is
slashing government, throwing people out in the streets is not a budget
that America can even tolerate. They could not overcome those that
didn't even want that budget. They wanted to cut and slice education,
resources to our military, health care, and the environment even more.
So I stand in the backdrop of that challenge to challenge this
Congress again. I was one of the first Members of Congress to deal with
raising the need for serious attention to the Ebola virus as it hit
Texas in Dallas. The first American to be diagnosed was in our State of
Texas.
I began as a member of the Committee on Homeland Security to ask what
our airports were doing, how are we assessing those who are traveling
into our country, and making sure that the Centers for Disease Control
were at my airports, both in Dallas and in Houston, Texas.
Now 1 year later or a couple of years later, we are now facing this
issue called the Zika virus. I want to be very clear, we are not paying
the attention to this that we should.
A headline reads: ``Scarier Than We Initially Thought.'' The CDC, the
Centers for Disease Control, sounds a major alarm, a warning regarding
the Zika virus. ``Public health officials used their strongest language
to date in warning about a Zika outbreak in the United States, as the
Obama administration lobbied Congress for $1.9 billion to combat the
mosquito-borne virus.''
What did I start out by saying?
The Federal Government should not run our lives, but it is the
umbrella on a rainy day. It is the only entity that can muster the
stakes and resources to deal with what the CDC has said is a far more
serious issue.
If we look at Puerto Rico, they are the eye of the storm. Texas, the
eye of the storm. Florida, the eye of the storm. It is important to
note that we have not done what we should be doing.
As a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, which
has a core mission of emergency preparedness of State and local
governments to be equipped to react to emergencies, I am acutely aware
of the potential for the Zika virus to be a real challenge for State
and local governments in the coming months. You need our help.
This House has done nothing to respond to the President's request for
$1.9 billion in emergency funds. My friends, this is not a frivolous
request.
What do emergency funds mean?
Someone said, just go write a check out of the operating budget of
the United States. You want us to be more fiscally responsible than
that. We have a budget. We have funding that we have to obligate to the
other needs of this Nation. The reason why the President rose to the
level of the emergency funding, because emergency funding can come
immediately outside of the budgeting process and begin to get these
dollars to community health entities in our States and the Centers for
Disease Control, who will have to be dispatched to our States to help
if the epidemic becomes uncontrollable. No action.
One leader in this House said they are doing absolutely nothing in
response to the President's request. They don't want to give him the
money. Thank goodness the Senate has just passed a compromise, the
other body, $1.9 billion in emergency funding for this important effort
that we must have.
I come from Houston that has a tropical climate, with many climatic
similarities with other States along the Gulf Coast, parts of Central
and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Tropical climates are
hospitable to mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. In addition,
Houston has a large and very diverse population that travels to many
parts of the Zika virus-impacted zones located throughout Central and
South America and the Caribbean where mosquito transmission of the Zika
virus is a primary means of exposure to the illness.
People coming back and forth into the United States, citizens, those
who have legal documents will travel across this Nation. There is no
reason to point to these individuals and make them scapegoats. We
should be prepared.
What about vacationers?
No matter how much you have spoken about the Zika virus, there will
be vacationers who will still be going to places because they planned
their vacation. They are going right into the heart of the storm.
As we well know, those women who will become pregnant will be the
prime target for a devastating impact on their embryo, their baby that
may be born with severe brain damage, lifelong brain damage.
We held a hearing early in March because I knew that I could not wait
to educate my community. I called the Zika virus planning meeting along
the Gulf Coast that would include doctors, agency officials, community
service and faith-based organizations to start to build the bridges
between those communities to defeat Zika.
As you well know, the summer Olympics will be held this year, and all
of our American athletes will be going to Brazil. Brazil is also one of
the serious sites of the Zika-carrying mosquito. It is a very serious
and important effort.
Communities across America should not be panicking, but they should
be preparing their community health centers, their public health system
to confront the Zika virus if it comes to their community either by way
of an individual who needs treatment or by chance of this mosquito.
{time} 1215
So I have called for a national task force on the prevention of Zika
virus infections in order to target funding for tropical climate areas,
like Houston, south Texas, Florida, and other places in the southern
region of the United States that have a tropical population, and to
focus on the environmental cleanup of city water and trash near
populated areas.
Most people are aware of the extreme flooding--20 inches of rain--
that hit my community just 10 to 15 days ago. There were large amounts
of sitting water and trash in a tropical area, tires. I visited a site
in my district after the rains that had sitting water. It was just an
open, welcoming place for the Zika-carrying mosquito.
I have also asked for public education campaigns targeting all public
and private pediatric clinics and OB/GYN services for pregnant women. I
need them to be educated that any mosquito repellant that does not have
the DEET name on it is not sufficient.
If you are traveling overseas, your mosquito repellant must say the
word ``DEET,'' which was work that I did in the United States Congress
a few years ago when mosquito repellants did not have that word on
them. We worked legislatively and with the EPA to ensure that you knew
if it had that component. And you must be careful in using that as
well.
We want to provide DEET repellant free to certain high-risk
populations, in cooperation with private companies. Demand for DEET
products will likely increase because the Zika virus is in the news. We
may run out. So it is important that companies need to be alerted to
set aside products for tropical areas along the south Texas coast and
other States along that tropical area going along the Gulf Coast:
Alabama, as I have said, Florida, Mississippi, and others.
And keep children's wading pools empty of water, my friends.
These are goals that should be met. I encourage stakeholders to be
calm, but to meet with your infectious disease physicians, who are in
all of your communities, along with your public health leaders, faith
leaders, and others, to educate about this particular disease.
It is important that we move on this call by the President. This is
not frivolous. This is an effort that is as clear as if we had called a
battalion into operation--the United States military--because we were
under attack. This is prevention--being prepared for potential
devastating impact.
These are not my words. One of the most renowned infectious disease
doctors that we have the privilege of hosting in Houston at the Baylor
College of Medicine, Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of
Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics
[[Page H2138]]
and molecular virology and microbiology at the Baylor College of
Medicine, said the following points:
Zika virus infections will increase over the next few
months. Effects of the infections on pregnant women in the
first trimester will be, certainly, dangerous. It will impact
on the poor. Leadership to fight the spread of the Zika virus
must be local and must start now.
Dr. Peter Hotez said that this particular mosquito is the greatest
killer of people in the world. They are also called the yellow fever
mosquito. Now they are acquiring the Zika virus. Dr. Hotez says we are
expecting 4 million Zika cases in the next 4 months, and to date, there
are over a million cases in Brazil.
Remember, we are traveling back and forth. As all of you know, this
is a small world. No one is kept from traveling internationally. We
don't close our borders, in terms of Americans traveling on business or
other responsibilities that they have.
Pregnancy, during the first trimester of pregnancy if the mother is
exposed to the Zika virus, it can invade the central nervous system.
Let me say this more clearly. In pregnancy, if the mother is infected
in the first trimester of pregnancy, it can invade the central nervous
system of the developing baby and inhibit brain development, which can
result in stillbirths and brain damage. It occurs in 1 of every 10,000
births. And the rate for Zika virus exposure far exceeds that number.
Brain damage undermines the development either at birth, or the brain
fails to develop properly after birth. The child will have difficulty
in walking, difficulty in hearing, and difficulty with speech. Not all
developmental consequences are known.
This is Dr. Hotez:
Three factors together make Zika virus a threat to poor
communities: high concentrations of poverty--sitting trash
and tires that may be found in many of our more depressed
areas--the presence of the mosquitos; environmental
conditions that support mosquito breeding near people; and
the lack of resources for people to isolate themselves from
mosquitos, such as screens, replants, and air-conditioning.
Now, we all know that on the continent of Africa they have been able
to bring down the epidemic of malaria by making sure that charities
like the United Nations and the Gates Foundation give mosquito nets to
the people to assist them.
Well, in the United States, I know a lot of people think everybody
has air-conditioning and that their doors and windows are closed. That
is not true. There are people who have no air-conditioning and have
their windows open or they have screens that have holes in them. It is
sad to think, but it is true.
Or they are outdoors. They are walking along places that have this
kind of circumstance--not because we want it to be that way, but after
a terrible and devastating storm like we had in Houston, we have mounds
of trash.
I want to thank the mayor of the city of Houston and the Harris
County Judge for working diligently on why I asked for extra money for
these areas: to clean up these trash areas. Now we have extra trash
because we had this terrible flood. People are still out of their
homes, and trash is still piled up in many places.
We need partnerships critical to defeating the Zika virus-carrying
mosquitos. Zika virus control requires more than spraying for
mosquitos. Mosquito and animal control need to use the best methods for
preventing the spread of the disease.
We can no longer say that disease is a problem from a foreign
country, because it will be a problem here. Dr. Umair Shah said the
important lesson from Ebola and Zika is that there is a strong
connection between global health and domestic health.
So, my friends, I am sounding the alarm not for panic, but
preparation and preparedness, education, outreach, personal precaution,
and understanding how to move around during this time, to cover up to
prevent mosquito bites day and night--prevent the bites day and night--
environmental cleanup. If you do not have the spray, use a mosquito net
that you can purchase.
It is important to note that the Zika virus is not a local mosquito
population, but it will travel. Travelers must be educated regarding
the Zika virus. And if you are wondering about our local atmosphere,
let me tell you of the latest news.
Thirteen Zika virus cases are now reported in Virginia. Two new cases
were reported on Thursday, both of them in the northern region of
Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Health. I did not say
Brazil. I said Virginia. There are now 388 cases nationwide as of
Thursday. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 33 with the
virus are pregnant. This is an action that we cannot avoid.
For anyone that has not seen the Zika virus-carrying mosquito, this
is a mighty powerful mosquito. And don't in any way have me suggest
that this is the size of it, but you can see the elements of it; and
what we are taught is that it is a pretty strong mosquito, not to be
deterred. We must get prepared.
So, as we look to the elements of preparedness, let me share some
other issues that I think need to be addressed. I thought this was so
important. The national media has helped us try to bring it to people's
attention. I put an article in Time magazine myself, ``Congress Must
Act Immediately to Combat Zika Virus.''
We are serious about this and have to get serious. We cannot have the
Senate in a compromise of $1.1 billion on the emergency supplemental
that the President has asked for, yet this House has not done anything.
We are now going for the district work recess. I will be going home
to my district to visit those individuals who are underwater, whose
properties are outside of their home, mosquito gathering sites where
trash is left not because they want to, but because so much has been
torn up because of the water and we are waiting for it to be picked up.
My community, my city needs these resources to do massive pickup of
tires, massive cleanup of sitting water.
The Aedes mosquito is the most dangerous of the various Zika-carrying
mosquitos. You can see that it is none too friendly looking. That is
why I came to the floor today.
I want to leave with information directly to pregnant women, to give
the information that we know to provide them with the importance of the
issues that we are confronting.
I include in the Record letters, Mr. Speaker, that I wrote in March
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services pleading for the task
force. As well, I include a number of other items.
I also ask President Obama to look closely at the southern region and
rim, where States like Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and
Florida are, because they will be the epicenter. Even though there are
now 388 cases nationwide, 13 in Virginia, as the summer goes on, this
is going to be of serious concern.
Let me suggest to you that this is a situation where women who are
pregnant are taking heed. Pregnant women in Houston and their doctors
weigh the risks of the Zika virus. This is a very real circumstance.
And our climate is very tropical.
This mother, Tracy Smith, and her children are at their home. Smith
is pregnant with twins, and she is worried about the approach of the
mosquito season. So OB/GYN doctors are now having to prepare their
mothers. What kind of protection should they take? What kind of
mosquito repellant should they utilize? And what measures? Should they
have mosquito nets inside their house, even though they may be living
in an air-conditioned facility?
But what you say for one mother who may have a more economic level of
opportunity than others, you need to say for the entire population of
pregnant women, because there is no doubt. Dr. Hotez has said this is
going to be a season where we have to be extremely concerned about the
Zika virus and the Zika-carrying mosquito.
So what we are suggesting is mosquito traps. And they will be in
these areas that are attractive to their environment and their trends:
sitting water, dirty water, wading pools. They are not prohibited, if I
might say, from getting an airplane ticket. They will get here on their
own. We have to take it very seriously.
So, I want an immediate response by this House to pass the
President's emergency supplemental and to work with the Senate on the
$1.1 billion that has been requested.
{time} 1230
It is money to save lives of Americans. It is money to give pregnant
[[Page H2139]]
women comfort that their newborn child can be born in this country with
the best opportunity for survival and, of course, to reach their
fullest potential.
Many of you have seen the video, tragically, of those babies with
small brains that have now been born in countries in South and Central
America. It is a sentence, although we love everyone, that we should
not render to an unborn child.
And to that mother who is looking forward to raising that child,
either her first or along with her other children, let me tell you what
the Zika virus will do. Pregnant women can be infected with the Zika
virus, as I said. The primary way that pregnant women get the Zika
virus is through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Zika virus can be spread by a man in sex partners. A pregnant woman
can pass Zika virus to a fetus. Zika virus can be passed from a
pregnant woman to a fetus during pregnancy or at delivery and then that
impact comes at a later time.
If a pregnant woman is exposed, we don't know how likely she is to
get Zika. If a pregnant woman is infected, we still don't know how the
virus will affect her or her pregnancy.
We don't know how likely it is that Zika will pass to a fetus. We
don't know, if the fetus is infected, if the fetus will develop birth
defects. It means that they cannot cure this in the womb.
We don't know whether her baby will have birth defects. We don't know
if sexual transmission of the Zika virus poses a different risk of
birth defects than mosquito-borne transmission.
So, because we have all these questions, we need the $1.9 billion
that the President asked, but we need it to begin to answer these
questions and we need to be able to have doctors like Dr. Hotez, a
major leader in infectious disease, begin the research to know what is
the best repellent not in terms of mosquito repellent, but what is the
best scientific response to this dastardly and predictable potential of
the Zika-carrying mosquito coming to the United States and having an
impact on all of those who are excited about looking forward to the
birth of a newborn baby.
I hope that, as we return from our work recess, this House and the
Republican leadership, as was said earlier on the floor, end any
partisan bickering, any debate or disagreement with the President of
the United States, and accept the fact that he is the Commander-in-
Chief and that his experts, the Centers for Disease Control, who are
the entity to which all of us in our respective communities immediately
turn for assistance on infectious diseases or natural disasters as it
relates to health care--we call upon them to come to our districts and
our States.
We ask them to help us and to make sure that we and our healthcare
system are doing all that we can to be able to be helpful.
I do want to end by saying the reason why we are in such an alarm is
there is now no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat the Zika
infection so that, if you are infected, as a mother, there is nothing
right now. So we have to work on the research and the preventative
aspect in order to protect these unborn children.
The illness can be mild, with symptoms lasting for several days to a
week. But it is that unborn child right now and the larger impact we
have yet to understand.
People may not be sick. They may not be sick enough to go to the
hospital. They may not die. For this reason, people might not realize
that they have been affected. That means we don't know whether their
infection can cause someone else to be infected because we need to do
more research.
We know it is transmitted by this mosquito. We need to make sure we
understand whether there is any other kinds of transmissions that we
have.
We know that there have been Zika travel advisory notices. We know
that this is not a happy experience for the countries that we have
listed.
But I feel compelled to say that the Zika virus has been noted in
Cape Verde, the Caribbean, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Dominican
Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, U.S. territories St. Maarten, St. Vincent, The Grenadines,
Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Zika virus is in Central America--Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama--Mexico, the Pacific
islands, American Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Tonga.
The Zika virus is in South America: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia,
Ecuador, French Guinea, Guyana, Paraguay, Surinam, and Venezuela.
I am not condemning these places. I am only asking that travelers
take caution. And pregnant women need to take counsel from their OB-
GYN.
So, my friends, our job and task here in this country is to be the
umbrella on a rainy day. It is to ensure that the American people have
all of the information that will help them make very important
decisions.
It is to make sure that our health system and our doctors who are in
their offices, in general medicine or internal medicine, have all the
information and tools to be able to determine whether a woman has been
infected and happens to be pregnant.
So my task here today is to say that we cannot wait. I am disturbed
that we now have a week and we have not yet passed the emergency
supplemental to help our friends in Puerto Rico, which, as I indicated,
have a serious, serious opportunity to be without the resources that
they need in the tropical climate that they are in to be able to
confront the Zika virus. That is a U.S. territory. How unfair that is.
To my friends in this House, you cannot wait any longer. When we come
back, there needs to be on the floor of the House a bill passing the
Senate compromise or the $1.9 billion emergency supplemental that the
President has asked for, as the Commander-in-Chief. We need to roll up
our sleeves. We need to ensure that the American people are taken care
of.
And I just want to add this: Our military personnel are in tropical
climates. We can treat them with limited dignity absolutely not.
They must have both the medical personnel and the equipment to either
be of assistance to places where they are, where the epidemic may be,
as they did when they were sent to Africa to help set up a hospital
structure that did not exist.
We don't know where this will be the worst, and I can assure you that
our military personnel may be called on, working with the Centers for
Disease Control. Are we going to leave them without the resources they
need? I hope not.
I take my role on the Homeland Security Committee very seriously. It
is our responsibility to deal with the security of this Nation.
We have excellent Members who are working hard, such as my dear
friend Donald Payne, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications. We work together
to ensure that America is prepared.
Right now this Zika-carrying mosquito has the potential for being
here in the United States and creating havoc among pregnant women and
possibly others.
What is our task? It is, Mr. Speaker, to do our job and to prepare
the American people. We owe that to the great and wonderful people of
this Nation, to the mothers and fathers expecting that bundle of joy.
We owe that to all of them.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland
Security, which has a core mission of emergency preparedness of state
and local governments to be equipped to react to emergencies make me
acutely aware of the potential for Zika Virus to be a real challenge
for state and local governments in the coming months.
This emerging health issue is a matter of great importance and one
that must be addressed in timely way through a coordinated effort by
federal, state and local government joined with community partners.
Houston Texas has a tropical climate with many climatic similarities
with other states along the Gulf Coast; parts of Central and South
America as well as the Caribbean. Tropical climates are hospitable to
mosquitoes that carry the Zika Virus.
In addition, Houston has a large and very diverse population that
travels to many of the Zika Virus impacted zones located throughout
Central and South America and the Caribbean where mosquito transmission
of the Zika Virus is the primary means of exposure to the illness.
I have identified shared concerns among state, and local agency
officials regarding a need to have a plan to address Zika Virus in
[[Page H2140]]
the Houston and Harris County area that would include every aspect of
the community.
For these reasons, I called the Zika Virus planning meeting along the
Gulf Coast that would include doctors, agency officials, community
service and faith based organizations to start to build the bridges
between these communities to defeat Zika whether it was contracted
through travel or mosquito borne transmissions.
Houston is fortunate to have diverse community of pastors who serve
people in need throughout the area. Part of the Zika Virus response
must be to ensure that we are doing all that we can and should be doing
to reach every community.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee's work on environmental mosquito mitigation
issues:
As Congresswoman I worked with the EPA to get the word DEET on labels
for mosquito repellant that contained the ingredient that remains the
most effective mosquito repellant on the market.
CDC recommends that DEET is safe for use on children 2 months of age
or older.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee's Action Plan:
National Taskforce on Prevention of Zika Virus infections;
Target Funding to Tropical Climate areas--like Houston and South
Texas in the U.S.;
Focus environmental cleanup of sitting water, and trash (tires) near
populated areas;
Public Education campaign targeting all public and private pediatrics
practices and OB/GYN service for pregnant women;
DEET Repellent;
Provide DEET Repellent free to certain high risk populations
incorporation with private companies [Demand for DEET products will
likely increase because of Zika Virus in the news.]; Companies need to
be alerted to sit aside product for tropical areas along the South
Texas Coast that will have the strongest need for the products; and
Keep children's wading pools empty of water.
Goals of the Meeting of Congresswoman Jackson Lee's March 10 Meeting
in Houston Texas:
Engage stakeholders in a planning discussion on combating Zika Virus:
1. Learn what each agency is doing to address Zika Virus
2. Calm the community through information
3. Engage key stakeholders outside of government and health care in
advance of Mosquito Season 2016
4. Outline the strategy to defeating Zika Virus breeding areas
5. Learn what needs to be done to effectively communicate with every
community in the Houston/Harris County area
6. Discuss the emergency supplemental appropriations proposed by
President Obama
What is Zika Virus:
Zika Virus is spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes
[A-dees] species mosquito. It is important to remember that 80% of
those who get the Zika Virus will feel no symptoms. The most common
symptoms of Zika [Zee-Ka] are fever, rash, joint pain, and
conjunctivitis (red eyes). The CDC reports based on what they know
about the virus to date--Zika virus illness is usually mild with
symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an
infected mosquito. People usually don't get sick enough to go to the
hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many
people might not realize they have been infected. Once a person has
been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future
infections.
What is being done to address Zika Virus:
Federal: President Obama is seeking $1.6 Billion in emergency
supplemental appropriations to fund Zika Virus mitigation; response,
local and state federal agency programs that address environmental
clean up; public education, community engagement, testing; and mosquito
abatement.
CDC has a disease surveillance unit at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Importance of advocating for the President's request:
Congresswoman Jackson Lee advised that offices that will benefit from
the resources to fight Zika Virus in their communities should make
their views known regarding the emergency supplemental appropriations.
Speakers:
Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and
Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor
College of Medicine, said.
4 Key points:
1. Zika Virus infections will increase over the next few months
2. Effects of the infections on pregnant women (first trimester)
3. Impact on the poor
4. Leadership to fight the spread of Zika Virus must be local
Dr. Peter Hotez said that Aedes Aegyptus mosquitoes are the greatest
killer of people in the world. They are also called the yellow fever
mosquito.
Dr. Peter Hotez we are expecting 4 million Zika Virus cases in the
next four months and to date there are over a million cases in Brazil.
Pregnancy during the first trimester of pregnancy if the mother is
exposed to the Zika Virus it can invade the central nervous system of
the developing baby and inhibit brain development, which can result in:
Still births;
Microcephaly [occurs in about 1 in every 10,000 births] the rate for
Zika Virus exposure far exceeds that number. Microcephaly is brain
under development either at birth or brain fails to develop properly
after birth: Difficulty walking, Difficulty hearing, Difficulty with
speech.
[Not all developmental or health consequences are known]
There are no tests to detect the virus, but not vaccine or cure.
Three factors together make Zika Virus a threat to poor communities:
High concentrations of poverty; the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes;
environmental conditions that support mosquito breeding near people and
a lack of resources for people to isolate themselves from mosquitoes
[screens, replants, air conditioning, etc.].
Zika virus disease in pregnant women in Bahia, Paraiba, and
Pernambuco states, supports an association between Zika virus infection
during early pregnancy and the occurrence of microcephaly.
Primary source of the virus is through infected mosquito bites.
People to people transmissions are rare, but can occur if the virus
load in the body is high sexual contact can spread the virus.
Leadership must be local; the CDC is only serving in a technical
advisory role to local and state governments.
Dr. Umair Shah Executive Director for Harris County Public Health &
Environmental Services, said:
Key points:
1. Partnerships are critical to defeating Zika Virus carrying
mosquitoes
2. Zika Virus control requires more than spraying for mosquitoes
3. Mosquito and animal control use the best methods for preventing
the spread of disease
Dr. Umair Shah said that the important lesson from Ebola and Zika is
there is a strong connection between global health and domestic health.
We can no longer say that disease is a problem from that foreign
country, because it will be a problem for the United States if it is
not addressed wherever it might originate.
He said that you can only effectively clap with two hands. The
partnerships that must be developed among local, state and federal
agencies as well as community leaders are critical to the success of
winning a fight against the Zika Virus.
Mosquito control will not be enough to deal with Zika Virus because
the host mosquito that is a primary carrier has evolved to live on
human blood--even when given a choice of animal or human blood the
Aedes Egypti will choose human blood. It lives near the ground--so
spraying in the air will not work; it likes to be near people; it
requires very little water to breed; it can hide under leaves, and will
seek out homes where people live.
Zika Virus response requires a new approach:
Education;
Outreach;
Personal precaution:
Cover up to prevent mosquito bites day and night: Slogan ``Prevent
the bite day and night''
Environmental cleanup--removing things that will hold water, small
wading pools for children, gutters, grills, tires, toys, trash, etc.
If you do not have air conditioning use a WHOPES approved net like
Pramax (156 holes per square inch and long enough to tuck under the
mattress)
Permethrin-treated bed nets provide more protection--do not wash them
or expose them to sunlight, which would break down an insecticide that
kills mosquitoes and other insects.
Important to note: Zika Virus is not in the local mosquito population
yet.
All domestic Zika cases except one have been linked to travel.
Travelers must be educated regarding Zika Virus. They should know the
symptoms and should seek care. They should not fear being shunned for
having the virus.
Dr. Dubboun, Director of the Harris County Public Health
Environmental Services Mosquito Control Division, prior to his current
public service he served 25 years in the military.
Harris County Health Department Zika Website: http://www.hcphes.org/
publications/hcphes responds/ 2016 zi ka virus/
Key points:
1. Get rid of the mosquito breeding habitat.
2. Ecologically people are the preferred food source for Aedes
mosquitoes.
3. No need to panic.
4. The solution to Zika Virus is community involvement.
Dr. Dubboun traveled to Brazil to join others in his field to sharing
information on mosquito control with the hope of determining the best
practices to achieve better results.
[[Page H2141]]
Dr. Dubboun said that the best approach to ending the threat of Zika
virus is to get rid of the habitat that is used by the mosquito to
breed. Ecologically people are the preferred food source for the Aedes
mosquitoes.
He said that there was no need to panic because the weather right now
(March 10, 2016-April 30, 2016) is not great for mosquito breeding,
which means we have time to address environmental issues that support
Aedes mosquito breeding.
Spraying will not work to control the Aedes aegypti mosquito because
this mosquito does not fly in the air--it stays close to the ground;
can breed in very small amounts of water; and hide very well.
The solution to fighting the Zika Virus is community involvement in
working to minimize the habitats that allow Zika Virus carrying
mosquitoes to breed.
Dr. Gruber, Assistant Commissioner from Regional and Local Health
Services for the State of Texas:
Key points:
1. Number of cases in Texas and nearly have are in Harris County they
are travel related except one;
2. Core ways to address key elements of a stop Zika effort.
Dr. Gruber said that he was there from the state to listen to what
was being said and to communicate that the state was planning to
support communities in combating Zika Virus.
On April 14 the state of Texas there have been 31 confirmed cases of
Zika Virus, we know this because the patients were ill enough to seek
medical attention and the tests were positive. Twelve of those cases
were in Harris County.
It is important to note that 80% of people who will be infected will
have no symptoms, which means it is not possible to know how many
people have returned from travel with the virus or antibodies after
having been exposed.
1. Core ways to address the existence of Zika Virus:
a. Health community communication with the public;
b. Correct vector control;
c. Surveillance;
d. Planning;
e. Keep yards clean; i. Communicate to authorities any needs for
services to assist with clean up or to address environmental issues
related to Zika.
f. The battle against Zika must be viewed as a community fight--we
must enroll people to become members of the Public Health Army.
Bishop James Dixon, Community of Faith Church:
Key points:
1. The poor are not equipped to protect themselves from anything;
2. Education is key;
3. Access to the Community is essential;
4. Many churches have Haiti Missions that must be educated on this
issue;
5. Larger forum to engage the community on the issues of Zika Virus
6. See others in the world as our neighbors, not as foreigners.
Bishop Dixon said that we must stop seeing the people of other
nations as foreigners but neighbors.
People who are poor do not have the means of helping themselves. By
the very definition of poverty--it is not just a state of being, but a
state of existence, a state of mind, and the source of our ability to
be compassionate, not just think compassionately.
Education is key to reaching those who are most in need, but breaking
through the barriers of poverty will require a great deal of effort.
People must come from outside of these communities into them to knock
on doors, pick up trash, hang mosquito netting, hand out DEET and show
people how to use it, help the elderly who cannot do their own yard
clean up, share with people the city and county numbers to call to
remove trash and tires, and teach people how to police their yards for
items that will allow mosquitoes to breed.
Prevention of Zika Virus transmission to humans must be the goal.
Houston has a very diverse community of pastors, ministers and
religious community leaders who should be part of this discussion and
the solution.
Dr. S.J. Gilbert Houston Metropolitan said that he wanted to bring
the Zika Virus issue to the attention of the diverse ministers
community and would support efforts by Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
Dr. Raouf Arafat Houston Health and Human Services Office of
Surveillance and Public Health Preparedness said:
Key points:
1. Houston routinely deals with medical or health related
emergencies;
2. The talent in the city and county government health departments
are unmatched in other locations around the nation;
3. We work well together and see each other as partners;
4. The Laboratory serves the entire area with testing services;
5. Training of public health workers is essential; and
6. Communication is essential.
City of Houston Website on Zika: http://www.houstontx.gov/health/
Epidemiology/Zika_Virus.html.
Dr. Arafat said that through surveillance and public health efforts
that Houston routinely responds to and effectively addresses
emergencies that never see the light of day because they are well
managed.
Disease control and prevention are areas where Houston excels and
very few areas of the country have a combination of very talented
people working in city and county government on the issue of public
health.
We have laboratory services that can test for Zika Virus, but only in
cases where the CDC guidelines are met, e.g., recent travel to a region
with the virus, symptoms consistent with the infection, etc.
As I have said the virus carrying mosquitoes are not in the Houston
area.
My purpose in working on this issue is to make sure that Houston
along with other Gulf Coast communities is prepared for the 2016
mosquito season.
The U.S. has the experience and we should use it to help other
nations, by doing so we also help ourselves. The strength of the U.S.
approach is the systems that have been built up and developed over
time. These systems allow for us in Houston and Harris County to know
if something serious is occurring in the city.
On January 1, 2016 people in this field of disease control expressed
a position that it was important to start working on Zika Virus issues,
but no one else was thinking about the virus. By January 29 everyone
was talking about Zika Virus.
Stephen Williams, Director of Houston Health Department, said:
Key points:
1. There is no need to be alarmed;
2. We have been thinking about this for some time;
3. The key to success will be personal responsibility; and
4. Environmental work has already begun.
Community action is important to meeting the challenge and each
person must play a part in the overall success of the plan.
The school education plans for Zika Virus in Houston Texas will begin
in early to late April.
During this same period they will be doing a visibility campaign for
the public to learn about protecting themselves from the virus, which
will include multipurpose centers and community health clinics.
There is no need for alarm about the topic of Zika, we deal with and
take care of situations on a daily basis that no one ever knows about
that are serious.
We will be successful in Houston if the funding the President
requested are approved by Congress.
The city of Houston began ramping up waste cleanup in low income
areas like the 3rd Ward located in my District by going after illegal
dump sites.
However, breeding sources in yards is not something the city or
county can take care of.
If the trash is in a vacant lot or on the side of the road that is
the government's responsibility, but private property is the owner's or
occupant's responsibility.
Houston has organized an incident command structure to combat Zika
Virus, which is the effort to better coordinate resources and planning
across agencies.
Houston Sanitation Department is part of that effort.
Dr. David Persse, Physician Director, Emergency Medical Services,
Houston Public Health Authority, said:
Key points:
1. Houston Emergency Command Center;
2. Solid Waste Collection efforts;
3. Phase I of Zika Virus Response;
4. Phase II of Zika Virus Response.
Dr. Persse said Houston's Emergency Command Center has been ramped
up, which includes Houston Department of Solid Waste, Department of
Housing and Air Port Authorities, etc.
Dr. Persse said Houston and Harris County are in Phase I of the Zika
Virus preparation where there is no virus in mosquitoes in the area and
the only cases are coming from those who have traveled to areas where
the infection is transmitted by mosquito bite.
During this phase Houston and Harris County will focus on
environmental cleanup of breeding sites and education of homeowners
about breeding mosquito sites on their property.
Goal: Get rid of breeding sites.
Phase II will focus on mosquito breeding and will start in mid-to
late April into May.
Julie Graves, (Confirmed) MD, MPH, PhD Regional Medical Director
Health Service Region 6/5S Texas Department of State Health Services,
said:
Dr. Graves said that the need to coordinate among all agencies
responsible for Zika Virus
[[Page H2142]]
preparation, public education, remediation and control was critical.
She said that chikungunya virus spread in the Caribbean was attributed
to the lack of cooperation among governments and agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
[TIME, Apr. 20, 2016]
Congress Must Act Immediately To Combat Zika Virus
Local governments need federal funding to prevent outbreaks
(By Sheila Jackson Lee)
Members of Congress recently received news so chilling that
it is imperative that they take immediate action to approve
the about $1.9 billion in emergency funding for Zika
preparedness requested by the Obama administration. According
to Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for
Allergy and Infectious Disease, the mosquito that carries the
Zika virus, which is already spreading rapidly in Latin
America and the Caribbean, has been detected in nearly 30
states and could infect hundreds of thousands of people in
Puerto Rico.
In Brazil, Zika has been identified as the cause in many
recent cases of microcephaly, a birth defect resulting in
babies being born with small heads and developmental
problems. Zika poses a special risk for pregnant women since
the virus can be transmitted through the bloodstream to the
fetus. Previously, it was thought that Zika was only a
problem during the first trimester of pregnancy, but
according to officials at the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, it has now been learned that the virus is likely
to be a problem throughout the term of pregnancy.
In February, the Obama administration requested Congress to
approve about $1.9 billion in emergency Zika prevention
funding, but to date Republican congressional leadership has
not acted. If Congress does not act to approve the urgently
needed funding, federal public health agencies will be forced
to divert funding away from research into malaria,
tuberculosis and a universal flu vaccine.
It is outrageous that the Republican congressional
leadership is putting at risk the health and safety of
hundreds of thousands of persons by refusing to do its job.
The impact of that failure of responsibility is likely to be
felt most severely in the congressional districts like the
one I represent in Houston, Texas.
Because the summer months in areas along the Gulf Coast and
the southwest region of the United States are unusually long
and hot, Houston is expected to be an epicenter of any Zika
outbreak in the U.S. In impoverished areas of the city and
county, there are many open ditches in residential areas and
lots where tires are illegally dumped. These are ideal
breeding habitats for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species
that carries the Zika virus. Experts now know that it can
also be transmitted in other ways, including sex.
Mosquito control will not be sufficient to limit the spread
of the Zika virus because the Aedes aegypti has evolved to
live on human blood, which it will choose over animal blood
whenever it has the opportunity to do so. This breed of
mosquito lives near the ground and near people, which limits
the effectiveness of areole spraying. The Aedes aegypti
mosquito can breed in a habitat as small as a cup of dirty
water, it can hide under leaves, and it will seek out homes
where people live.
To combat the threat posed by Zika, it is essential that
the public be enlisted as the first line of defense. But for
this effort to be successful, resources must be available to
implement community-based mosquito control and abatement
programs. That is why I have called upon the Republican
congressional leadership to approve the requested about $1.9
billion emergency Zika prevention funding immediately, with
$100 million dedicated to support local government efforts to
conduct environmental cleanup activities to remove items in
populated areas that promote mosquito breeding. This funding
would also support coordinated public-education campaigns to
encourage proactive efforts to seek early medical care when
Zika virus symptoms are present, or early in a pregnancy.
The funding would also provide the resources to teach
community residents how to check for and safely address
mosquito breeding areas; repair or replace broken or torn
door and window screens; and provide DEET mosquito replant
products to low-income communities and mosquito netting for
beds in homes that have no air conditioning.
Last month, I convened the first of what are planned to be
several strategic planning sessions with state and local
officials to prevent any outbreak or spread of the Zika
virus. Here in Houston and Harris County we are prepared to
meet this serious challenge to public health and safety with
determination and resolve. All we are lacking is the federal
funding needed to succeed. And that is why Congress must act
immediately.
____
Congress of the United States,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, March 10, 2016.
Hon. Sylvia Mathews Burwell,
Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Washington, DC.
Dear Secretary Mathews Burwell: I applaud the President and
commend his designation of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services as the lead federal agency charged with
responding to the threat posed by the Zika virus. I am
writing to request that the Department of Health and Human
Services establish a National Taskforce on the Prevention of
Zika Virus infections in pregnant women and girls.
The Zika Virus is a serious illness for pregnant girls and
women. Zika virus can be spread from a pregnant woman to her
fetus and has been linked to a serious birth defect of the
brain called microcephaly in babies of mothers who had Zika
virus while pregnant. Other problems have been detected among
fetuses and infants infected with Zika virus before birth,
such as absent or poorly developed brain structures, defects
of the eye, hearing deficits, and impaired growth. CDC
recommends special precautions for pregnant women. There is
no treatment or cure for those infected with Zika Virus.
Experts believe the Zika Virus will be a seasonal epidemic
for North America, but will primarily affect those states in
the south and will flare up in the summer and continue into
the fall in tropical zones. As you know, in Texas we have had
particularly hot and long summers, with tropical zones along
the Gulf Coast that include Houston Texas. There are two
types of the Aedes mosquitoes known to carry the virus that
found in the Houston area. Houston will possibly be ground
zero for the United States because of environmental
conditions that support breeding of mosquitoes that are known
to carry Zika Virus in the Americas that are found in close
proximity to low income areas and the proximity. Prevention
measures consist of community based mosquito control programs
that are able to reduce vector populations and personal
protection measures to reduce the likelihood of being bitten
by infected mosquitos.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Very truly yours,
Sheila Jackson Lee,
Member of Congress.
____________________