Zika may be linked to a disorder that can damage the spinal cord, a leading administration official said.
“We are starting to see [the disorders], but we don’t know how frequent it is going to be, but at least we have seen them and that is concerning,” said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on “Fox News Sunday.”
The federal government already confirmed a link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly. It is studying a similar link between the mosquito-borne virus and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause temporary analysis.
Now officials are seeing cases of another disorder called acute myelitis, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord and paralysis.
There are more than 300 cases of the virus in the U.S., according to federal data. So far the virus isn’t spreading via mosquito bites, but officials worry that could change as summer approaches.
Fauci said that there could be local outbreaks of the virus, but downplayed a wide-scale outbreak of hundreds or thousands of infected people getting the virus via mosquitoes.
“We talk about dozens of cases at the most,” he said.
The virus has spread to more than 40 countires and territories around the world. A recent study found 50 U.S. cities are vulnerable to a Zika infection, with cities in Florida and Texas particularly vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the administration and Congress are battling over whether to approve the administration’s $1.9 billion funding request Obama made back in February.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said earlier this week that the funding request should go through the regular appropraitions process.
Fauci said that process takes time.
“I can’t wait to start developing a vaccine,” he said. “You have to do it and to do it you need money.”
Fauci has previously told Congress he hopes to get a vaccine by next year, but said that without more funding then human trails will stall.
