US senate blocks Zika funding for third time

US Senate Democrats blocked a $1.1 billion bill to combat the Zika virus for a third time after Republicans inserted provisions that would end funding for a major abortion provider.

Returning from a seven-week break to the measure with which the last Senate session ended, Democrats voted unanimously to stop the legislation from moving forward and ending debate, opposing measures that would have blocked funding for reproductive health group Planned Parenthood and allowed Confederate flags to fly at military cemeteries.

The vote, which required 60 votes to pass in the Republican-controlled chamber, failed 52 to 46.

Democratic Senator Charles Schumer accused Republicans of loading the bill with "poison pill riders to assuage the hard right."

"Rather than continuing to work with Democrats, Republicans decided to appease a group so extreme that they didn't even want Zika funding to begin with," he said in a statement.

"It's hard to explain why, despite their own calls for funding, Senate Democrats decided to block a bill that would keep pregnant women and babies safer from Zika," he said on the Senate floor before reintroducing the previously blocked measure.

The funding is now expected to be included in a bipartisan stopgap spending bill later this month.

Zika is spread by mosquitoes and sexual contact. A study out Tuesday said the virus may live in eyes and spread through tears.

Zika causes only mild symptoms for most people. But in pregnant women, it can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads.

The disease has also been linked to a potentially fatal disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can lead to nervous system problems such as weakness and paralysis.

President Barack Obama urged Congress to fund the fight against Zika last month after health officials expressed deepening worry about the spread of the virus with the first reports of local transmissions in Florida.

In the absence of a funding bill, the White House has been redirecting funds earmarked to fight Ebola, cancer and other diseases.

"That's not a sustainable solution," Obama said. The delay for more funds "puts more Americans at risk."</s>Singapore has so far detected more than 280 Zika infections since reporting its first case on Aug. 27.

Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of the birth defect.

In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.

An analysis of two locally infected patients showed the Zika strain in Singapore likely evolved from a strain already circulating in Southeast Asia since the 1960s, the Straits Times newspaper said on its website.

The analysis will be made available for the benefit of the global scientific community, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the newspaper said.

On Wednesday, the WHO updated its assessment of the Zika virus as a cause of congenital brain abnormalities in babies and the Guillian-Barre syndrome, after considering months of research into the mosquito-borne disease.</s>Researchers have found that the Zika virus can live in eyes, and research in mice may help explain why some Zika patients develop eye disease, including a condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.

In a study published Tuesday in Cell Reports, researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis describe the effect of Zika virus infections in the eyes of mouse fetuses, newborns and adults.

The study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for the virus. Eye infection raises the possibility that people could become infected with Zika through contact with tears from infected people, they said.

Zika virus is primarily spread from the bite of an infected mosquito. It is also spread through sex. Some researchers are also considering whether other bodily fluids may play a role.

Researchers have detected Zika virus in blood, urine, semen, saliva and breast milk. It has also been found in genital tract swabs and fluid inside the eye, health officials have said.

Researchers said bodily fluids, including tears, are one possibility for how an elderly Utah man may have spread the virus to his son. The elderly man died in July after contracting Zika from travel abroad, but his son did not leave the country and the mosquitoes known to spread the disease are not found in their area. Officials haven't been able to determine how his caregiver son became infected. The son has since recovered.

"That one case illustrates the real conundrum," said Rajendra Apte, an ophthalmology professor and retina specialist who is one of the study's senior authors.

To determine the effects of Zika infection on the eye, Washington University scientists infected adult mice and found live virus in the eyes seven days later. They didn't find virus in the eyes of baby mice eight days after they were born to infected mothers. But after infecting neonatal mice, they found evidence of Zika infection once they were born, Apte said.

Researchers found that the tears of infected mice contained Zika's RNA - the genetic material from the virus - but not infectious virus, when tested 28 days after infection.

What researchers don't know is whether in mice, "there is a point where tears are actually infectious," Apte said. He added that in people, "it could be a completely different story."

Unlike other parts of the body, the eye is a place where the normal immune response is suppressed. It's an evolutionary response to avoid inflammation of sensitive tissue "because if you have a lot of inflammation or scar tissue, it's not good for vision," he said. As a result, infections sometimes persist in the eye after they have been cleared from the rest of the body.

American doctor Ian Crozier treated patients in West Africa during the Ebola epidemic in 2014, and later became infected himself. The virus lurked in his eye months after he had been declared Ebola-free.

Researchers are planning studies to determine whether infectious Zika virus persists in human eyes, Apte said. They also want to know how long the virus stays in the eyes because of other public health implications.

Hepatitis C virus, a related virus, can infect the human cornea and is transmitted by corneal transplants, the study said. The study pointed out that eye banks may need to start testing corneas for Zika virus as well.</s>(CNN) The pictures from Brazil are heartbreaking: baby after baby born with a small head and damaged brain after an attack by the Zika virus during pregnancy. The official numbers are equally disturbing: The rate of birth defects involving the nervous system nearly doubled across Brazil after Zika arrived.

This stark statistical reality was discovered by a team of researchers from Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which analyzed hospital records across Brazil from 2008, well before Zika arrived, until the end of February 2016.

The researchers also looked for data on rare, potentially deadly inflammations of the brain and spinal cord such as encephalitis, myelitis, and encephalomyelitis, as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome , a disorder where the body's immune system attacks its own nerve cells, causing pain, paralysis and even death.

The results, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , found "an unprecedented and significant rise in the hospitalization rate for congenital malformations of the nervous system, Guillain-Barré syndrome, encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis" beginning in mid-2014.

That's more than a year before the world became aware of the outbreak in October 2015, and stories of Zika's terrible consequences began to appear in the news.

The numbers show the northeast region of Brazil, often considered the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, was indeed the hardest hit. Historical averages of congenital malformations were stable at about 40/100,000 live births until November of 2015. Then the number jumped to 170/100,000 births, four times higher.

Then, in the four months between November 2015 and February 2016, "a total of 1,027 hospitalizations for congenital malformations of the nervous system were recorded nationwide," the researchers said. Almost half, 448, occurred in the Northeast.

Rates of Guillain-Barré and encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis showed a similar increase in the Northeast. Hospitalizations for Guillain-Barré increased by nearly 3% until the outbreak peaked in July of last year, while the Northeast was the only area of the country to see an increase in CNS.

No one really knows why this section of Brazil was so unfortunate.

"It might be the economic environment," one researcher told CNN's Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, during his visit to the northeastern city of Salvador just before the Olympic Games in Rio.

"Because of the poverty, we have a more closely packed population, and sanitary conditions are worse in this part of the country," said Dr. Jamary Oliveira Filho, a Harvard-trained neurologist who is studying the Zika outbreak. "It's the perfect setup for epidemic to occur, where there's already inadequate social conditions."

In their study, researchers from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation mention additional theories. One is that co-infection with dengue or chikungunya, two other viruses passed by the same mosquito that carries Zika, might be contributing to the devastating consequences of the virus. Another is that a drought, malnutrition and contamination of drinking water might be a contributing factor.

"The concentration of neuropathies in the northeast states remains a mystery for researchers and health surveillance services," said the researchers. "New detection tools for outbreaks should be pursued to identify real trends and, at the same time, minimize false alarms and panic that could be provoked in populations potentially affected by the Zika epidemic."</s>Malaysia on Wednesday confirmed its first case of the Zika virus in a pregnant woman, a 27-year-old living in a southern city next to the city-state of Singapore.

 Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized, besides other brain abnormalities.

 Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said the woman, who is three- to four-months pregnant, lives in the southern city of Johor Bahru, next to Singapore which has reported a total of 275 cases so far.

 Her husband, who works in Singapore, had also showed symptoms of Zika and was undergoing tests.

 ‘It’s still unclear whether the woman contracted the disease from her husband or whether it was locally transmitted,’ Subramaniam told a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital.

 Last week, Malaysia confirmed the first imported case of Zika in a 58-year-old woman who had visited Singapore. On Saturday, it confirmed the first case of a locally transmitted Zika infection.

 Subramaniam said Malaysia was expecting to see more cases in Johor Bahru because of its closeness to Singapore. About 200,000 Malaysians commute daily from Johor to the city-state.

 Although microcephaly is typically detected during ultrasounds in the late second and early third trimester of pregnancy, these findings can be detected as early as 18-20 weeks gestation, according to the US centers for disease control and prevention.</s>(CNN) The pictures from Brazil are heartbreaking: baby after baby born with a small head and damaged brain after an attack by the Zika virus during pregnancy. The official numbers are equally disturbing: The rate of birth defects involving the nervous system nearly doubled across Brazil after Zika arrived.

This stark statistical reality was discovered by a team of researchers from Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which analyzed hospital records across Brazil from 2008, well before Zika arrived, until the end of February 2016.

The researchers also looked for data on rare, potentially deadly inflammations of the brain and spinal cord such as encephalitis, myelitis, and encephalomyelitis, as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome , a disorder where the body's immune system attacks its own nerve cells, causing pain, paralysis and even death.

The results, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , found "an unprecedented and significant rise in the hospitalization rate for congenital malformations of the nervous system, Guillain-Barré syndrome, encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis" beginning in mid-2014.

That's more than a year before the world became aware of the outbreak in October 2015, and stories of Zika's terrible consequences began to appear in the news.

The numbers show the northeast region of Brazil, often considered the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, was indeed the hardest hit. Historical averages of congenital malformations were stable at about 40/100,000 live births until November of 2015. Then the number jumped to 170/100,000 births, four times higher.

Then, in the four months between November 2015 and February 2016, "a total of 1,027 hospitalizations for congenital malformations of the nervous system were recorded nationwide," the researchers said. Almost half, 448, occurred in the Northeast.

Rates of Guillain-Barré and encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis showed a similar increase in the Northeast. Hospitalizations for Guillain-Barré increased by nearly 3% until the outbreak peaked in July of last year, while the Northeast was the only area of the country to see an increase in CNS.

No one really knows why this section of Brazil was so unfortunate.

"It might be the economic environment," one researcher told CNN's Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, during his visit to the northeastern city of Salvador just before the Olympic Games in Rio.

"Because of the poverty, we have a more closely packed population, and sanitary conditions are worse in this part of the country," said Dr. Jamary Oliveira Filho, a Harvard-trained neurologist who is studying the Zika outbreak. "It's the perfect setup for epidemic to occur, where there's already inadequate social conditions."

In their study, researchers from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation mention additional theories. One is that co-infection with dengue or chikungunya, two other viruses passed by the same mosquito that carries Zika, might be contributing to the devastating consequences of the virus. Another is that a drought, malnutrition and contamination of drinking water might be a contributing factor.

"The concentration of neuropathies in the northeast states remains a mystery for researchers and health surveillance services," said the researchers. "New detection tools for outbreaks should be pursued to identify real trends and, at the same time, minimize false alarms and panic that could be provoked in populations potentially affected by the Zika epidemic."</s>(CNN) The pictures from Brazil are heartbreaking: baby after baby born with a small head and damaged brain after an attack by the Zika virus during pregnancy. The official numbers are equally disturbing: The rate of birth defects involving the nervous system nearly doubled across Brazil after Zika arrived.

This stark statistical reality was discovered by a team of researchers from Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which analyzed hospital records across Brazil from 2008, well before Zika arrived, until the end of February 2016.

The researchers also looked for data on rare, potentially deadly inflammations of the brain and spinal cord such as encephalitis, myelitis, and encephalomyelitis, as well as Guillain-Barré syndrome , a disorder where the body's immune system attacks its own nerve cells, causing pain, paralysis and even death.

The results, published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , found "an unprecedented and significant rise in the hospitalization rate for congenital malformations of the nervous system, Guillain-Barré syndrome, encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis" beginning in mid-2014.

That's more than a year before the world became aware of the outbreak in October 2015, and stories of Zika's terrible consequences began to appear in the news.

The numbers show the northeast region of Brazil, often considered the epicenter of the Zika outbreak, was indeed the hardest hit. Historical averages of congenital malformations were stable at about 40/100,000 live births until November of 2015. Then the number jumped to 170/100,000 births, four times higher.

Then, in the four months between November 2015 and February 2016, "a total of 1,027 hospitalizations for congenital malformations of the nervous system were recorded nationwide," the researchers said. Almost half, 448, occurred in the Northeast.

Rates of Guillain-Barré and encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis showed a similar increase in the Northeast. Hospitalizations for Guillain-Barré increased by nearly 3% until the outbreak peaked in July of last year, while the Northeast was the only area of the country to see an increase in CNS.

No one really knows why this section of Brazil was so unfortunate.

"It might be the economic environment," one researcher told CNN's Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, during his visit to the northeastern city of Salvador just before the Olympic Games in Rio.

"Because of the poverty, we have a more closely packed population, and sanitary conditions are worse in this part of the country," said Dr. Jamary Oliveira Filho, a Harvard-trained neurologist who is studying the Zika outbreak. "It's the perfect setup for epidemic to occur, where there's already inadequate social conditions."

In their study, researchers from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation mention additional theories. One is that co-infection with dengue or chikungunya, two other viruses passed by the same mosquito that carries Zika, might be contributing to the devastating consequences of the virus. Another is that a drought, malnutrition and contamination of drinking water might be a contributing factor.

"The concentration of neuropathies in the northeast states remains a mystery for researchers and health surveillance services," said the researchers. "New detection tools for outbreaks should be pursued to identify real trends and, at the same time, minimize false alarms and panic that could be provoked in populations potentially affected by the Zika epidemic."</s>Biden asks U.S. Congress to allow unencumbered Zika funding vote

WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday called on the Republican-led U.S. Congress to allow an up-or-down vote on funding to combat the Zika virus without other provisions attached, calling the health threat posed by the pathogen a national emergency.

Congress has failed to approve any funding to fight the mosquito-borne virus since President Barack Obama asked for $1.9 billion in February.

Lawmakers have been deadlocked for months over a $1.1 billion funding bill. Democrats have accused Republicans of attaching controversial provisions related to abortion and Obama's healthcare law that they cannot accept and have called for new legislation. Republicans in turn have accused Democrats of blocking the bill to gain political advantage by portraying Republicans as obstructionists on Zika funding.

"Give us an up-or-down vote, straight, on Zika," Biden, a former Democratic senator from Delaware, said at an event on Capitol Hill with fellow Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives.

"I understand attaching controversial issues to important legislation ... but this is a national emergency," Biden added. "People's health, the well-being of unborn children, the health of the country at large, is at stake. Act."

Republicans and Democrats have huddled separately in closed meetings this week to see if they could reach a compromise during September's 19-day legislative work session.

A main issue is Democrats' opposition to language, backed by Republicans, that they say would prevent Zika funds for abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, mainly in Puerto Rico.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika.

The virus, first detected in Brazil last year, has spread rapidly through the Americas. Florida is the only U.S. state so far where local mosquitoes are known to be transmitting Zika.</s>CHIANG MAI, Thailand — The Burmese Consulate in Chiang Mai has warned pregnant Burmese women to temporarily avoid visiting the northern Thai province after a pregnant migrant woman was infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus this week.

On Monday, the Zika virus was detected in two pregnant women in Chiang Mai Province’s San Sai District. One is a 28-year-old Burmese migrant, eight months into her pregnancy, according to the Chiang Mai Public Health Centre.

As of Monday, 11 Zika cases have been reported in Chiang Mai Province, according to The Bangkok Post—the highest concentration in Thailand, where known cases have reached a total of 20 across four provinces: Chiang Mai, Phetchabun, Bueng Kan and Chanthaburi. But the Thai Ministry of Public Health says the situation remains under control.

The symptoms of Zika infection are generally mild, although in pregnant women it can cause brain malformations and other defects in unborn children. There are no vaccines or specific treatments.

The virus has been known to occur largely in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. However, a widespread Zika epidemic began in Brazil early last year, spreading to other parts of South and North America and to some Pacific islands. It has since been detected in Southeast Asia, Singapore and Thailand.

The Burmese Consulate’s statement issued on Wednesday read, “Pregnant women and those planning to have a baby should temporarily suspend trips to Chiang Mai.”

Burmese Consular General U Kaung San Lwin told the Irrawaddy the warning was intended for Burmese migrants living in Thailand as well as Burmese tourists.

He said the Burmese patient was undergoing treatment at the Public Health Center’s emergency unit in San Sai. The Consulate intends to erect warning signs about the Zika virus in Burmese migrant communities in Chiang Mai—including in the vicinity of the Burmese Wat Sai Moon monastery—and publish posts on Facebook.

He added that the Consulate was ready to support Burmese infected with the Zika virus, and encouraged all Burmese migrants to contact the Consulate immediately if symptoms appear.

“I would like to warn the migrants to avoid being bitten by misquotes, to be aware of the symptoms and to see a doctor if you find yourself feeling any of the symptoms […] and to contact us,” he said.

Some migrant communities have already been informed about the risks of Zika infection by an awareness campaign begun by Thai authorities last month.

Burmese migrant Ma Khin Phone, who belongs to a workers’ association, said the migrants she knew of—particularly pregnant women—were concerned about the disease.

“When we conduct outreach among migrant communities, we advise them to scrupulously avoid mosquito bites and to use mosquito nets,” she said.</s>BRAD WENSTRUP 

 The truth behind the Zika funding delays

Fears are rising as the Zika virus has become a national concern.

Nearly three months ago, my colleagues and I in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to help combat the virus, which is borne by mosquitos and can cause serious birth defects and other conditions if contracted during pregnancy. Yet Americans are still waiting for relief. Why? Because Senate Democrats refused to pass this bill before going home for the August District Work Period.

Passing our bill should have been simple. Republicans and Democrats agree on the problem.

To date, hundreds of pregnant women in the United States and territories have shown signs of the Zika virus. Countless others live in fear of being infected.

Republicans and Democrats also agree on the solution: targeted federal funding can bolster efforts to prevent the virus, including mosquito control and the development and commercialization of vaccines.

The solution was swift and simple: the House of Representatives passed a balanced, bipartisan, bicameral bill that would have provided $1.1 billion for Zika prevention efforts.

Then the dysfunction and politics began. Senate Democrats blocked the bill twice because it did not send taxpayer money to one of their biggest political supporters, Planned Parenthood.

They turned a genuine public health threat to unborn babies into an opportunity to defend Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States.

At the core of this dysfunction are seven clinics in Puerto Rico that are affiliated with Planned Parenthood. Under the House-passed legislation, these clinics are ineligible to receive funds to help fight Zika. The bill stipulates a more logical and effective approach — sending Zika virus defense funding to hospitals, community health centers, state health departments, and Medicaid. So Planned Parenthood advocates threw their political muscle behind these clinics and urged the Senate to oppose the Zika legislation. And Senate Democrats and the president have responded by going on a PR blitz to blame Republicans for inaction. Yet, who is really being obstructionist here?

The push to include these Planned Parenthood-affiliated clinics as funding recipients in the bill was a crass political calculation that unnecessarily injected politics into an important public health concern. As fact-checkers at the media-run Politifact noted, everywhere there is a clinic in Puerto Rico, there is “another type of facility that would have been eligible for additional funding to combat the spread of Zika.”

Senate Democrats had a choice: they could pass much-needed legislation or they could engage in political theater in defense of one of their loudest and most politically powerful allies. They chose political theater, and, sadly, used the phrase “women’s health” as a weapon to deny women and their unborn children true protection. They chose to fight for Planned Parenthood instead of those afflicted with the Zika virus. More than six weeks have passed since that vote, and every day the Senate fails to act places more women and children at risk.

The Senate is prepared to take up this legislation again next Tuesday. I appeal to my colleagues to lay aside political calculations. The problem is clear, and the solution is ready. Do the right thing and pass this bill to fight this public health crisis.
Malaysia reports its first pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus.