GOP wants more answers on Zika

The request for more answers in a letter Tuesday comes as federal agencies are ramping up its response to the mosquito-borne virus as the warmer summer months approach.

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote to Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, asking questions about the nation’s preparedness for Zika.

The lawmakers asked the HHS numerous questions about the diagnostic testing for Zika and research undertaken on finding vaccines and treatments for the virus.

The lawmakers asked what the administration is doing to improve the diagnostic testing for the virus, saying that the current status of testing is “alarming.”

“The most widespread of the tests — which measures the presence of the virus in the blood — only works if administered within five to seven days of the onset of symptoms,” the letter said. “Given that nearly 80 percent of individuals infected with Zika appear to be asymptomatic, this test is insufficient for most people who will become infected with Zika.”

The lawmakers whos signed the letter — Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania — also asked what other resources states and localities can use to combat Zika. Upton is chairman of the full committee and Murphy the oversight subcommittee.

The letter calls for responses by April 12.

Administration officials have said that the funding is urgently needed as the virus is primarily spread through mosquito bites. The virus currently isn’t spreading via mosquito bites in the U.S., but officials are increasingly worried about the coming summer months when mosquitoes will start to breed and multiply.

GOP lawmakers have been reticent to spend more, saying that the administration can use funds leftover from the Ebola outbreak. Burwell and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have told Congress that most of that money is committed to other countries.