In Florida Zika Probe, Federal Scientists Kept At Arm’s Length

FUNDING BLAME GAME

Florida health officials publicly disclosed the first case of suspected local transmission on July 19.

They have since been testing hundreds of area residents to identify other possible infections, in some cases knocking on doors asking people to provide urine samples, and studying local mosquito populations to see if they are carrying the virus.

The state has warned residents to protect themselves against mosquito bites, and distributed Zika prevention kits for pregnant women at local doctors’ offices.

Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert from the University of Minnesota, said the two counties involved in the Florida probe – Miami-Dade County and Broward County – have extensive mosquito control experience. But he was surprised that the state had not yet sought CDC’s help in quickly gathering information about where people were when they were bitten.

“When cases like this occur, it’s critical that there be rapid epidemiological investigations to determine the likely location where the mosquito exposure occurred,” Osterholm said. “Only with that can you identify the breeding sites and eliminate them.”

As Zika’s arrival in the United States loomed in recent months, Republican and Democratic leaders have blamed each other for holding up funding to fight it. President Barack Obama’s administration asked Congress for $1.9 billion to fund a Zika response. Republican lawmakers proposed much smaller sums, and talks with their Democratic counterparts stalled before Congress adjourned for the summer.

Scott, a Republican, said on Friday he had asked top officials in the Obama administration, including CDC Director Tom Frieden, for more resources to fight Zika. He has allocated$26 million from the state’s budget.

On July 20, the White House said that Obama had called the Florida governor to discuss the possibility that Zika was circulating in the state, and promised an extra $5.6 million in federal funding in addition to about $2 million provided by CDC.

The statement praised Florida’s record of responding to mosquito-borne outbreaks and its close coordination with federal partners, including the CDC.

“Florida does what Florida does,” said one public health expert familiar with the investigation. “If I were health commissioner, I would have asked for their (CDC’s) help immediately.”

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Bernard Orr)