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Zika is an emergency; infected mosquitos may arrive in the U.S. this summer; "and there's much that we still don't know about it," Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Congress on Wednesday.
He said 30 or more states are at risk of transmission -- southern states more so than others. And warmer weather accelerates the danger: "Here, it's possible that come summer, we will have a situation where a woman gets pregnant, and through bad luck, gets bitten by a mosquito that is infected with Zika and may have an affected child. We want to do everything in our power to prevent that from occurring."
Friedan said at least 13 states have aedes aegypti, the mosquito that is most effective at spreading the virus. "Aedes albopictus also can spread Zika. It is probably a less efficient vector, and there are more than 30 states" with that type of mosquito. Frieden said one of the problems with controlling the spread of Zika is that "surveillance for mosquitoes is not perfect, it's not up to date" in the states that may be affected.
