These days, you can’t pick up a newspaper, turn on the television, or hop online without seeing a reference to the Zika Virus. We are learning more by the day, but there is a lot we still don’t know, and Congress is in search of answers.
Here’s what we do know: Zika is a mosquito-borne virus, which is spreading rapidly across the Western Hemisphere and within the United States. Unlike many other viruses, the symptoms of Zika tend to be mild – and only about one in five people infected show symptoms, which are often minor and flu-like. Zika is believed to be linked to an increase in microcephaly, a congenital birth defect in infants born to infected mothers, as well as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an immune disorder resulting in temporary paralysis. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a “public health emergency of international concern,” based largely on the rise in the incidence of microcephaly in Brazil.
