First Zika-Linked U.S. Death Reported; Congress Leaves For Recess Without Approving Funding
Doctors say deaths caused by Zika complications are rare. Meanwhile, lawmakers left several unresolved issues, including a compromise that could allocate more than a billion dollars toward efforts to fight the virus, as they left on a week-long break.
The New York Times:
First U.S. Death Tied To Zika Is Reported In Puerto Rico
A Puerto Rican man died from complications of the Zika virus earlier this year, the first reported death attributed to the disease in the United States. The victim, a man in his 70s, died in February from internal bleeding as a result of a rare immune reaction to an earlier Zika infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Puerto Rico now has 683 confirmed Zika infections in its outbreak, which began in December; 89 are in pregnant women, according to Dr. Ana Ríus, the territory’s health secretary. (McNeil and Victor, 4/29)
The Associated Press:
Congress Heads Out With No Resolution On Zika, Puerto Rico
Congress accomplished relatively little in a short work period, missing deadlines on the budget and on helping Puerto Rico with its financial crisis as lawmakers began a weeklong break. They left behind few clues about how they would address must-do items such as finding money to counter the Zika virus and a second, even scarier July 1 deadline for averting a fiscal disaster in cash-strapped Puerto Rico. Democrats called upon House leaders to modify this spring's three-weeks on, one-week off legislative schedule to keep working, as Puerto Rico hurtles toward a half-billion-dollar default on Sunday. (4/30)
Elsewhere, in Sonoma —
McClatchy:
Health Officials Report First Zika Virus Case In Sonoma County
A Sonoma County resident contracted the Zika virus after being bit by mosquitoes while on a recent trip to Central America, county health officials said Thursday, announcing the first confirmed Zika virus case in the county. (Espinoza, 4/29)