US Opinion and Commentary

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This Is how the U.S. Must Lead the Fight Against Zika

Posted July 19th, 2016 at 12:18 pm (UTC-4)
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The world is not mounting a sufficient operational response to Zika in the South and Central American countries that are at risk. Brazil, Colombia and other nations are not applying the scale of resources required to rapidly reduce transmission. Within a year, Puerto Rico could have hundreds of cases of microcephaly, leading to disastrous consequences…

Zika Is Coming, but We’re Far From Ready

Posted May 23rd, 2016 at 1:02 pm (UTC-4)
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Zika is not “coming” to the United States: It is already here….It is not a question of whether babies will be born in the United States with Zika-related microcephaly — it is a question of when and how many.

The GOP Congress Must Stop Hurting the Zika Fight

Posted May 16th, 2016 at 12:39 pm (UTC-4)
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell told us this week that, although the administration has already shifted about half a billion dollars from fighting Ebola to the battle against Zika, that is not enough….Without full emergency funding, she said, research on creating a vaccine and work on badly needed diagnostics will slow…

Odds Are you Won’t get Zika. But It’s only Human to Worry that You Might

Posted March 7th, 2016 at 8:21 am (UTC-4)
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You wouldn’t know it from the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global public health emergency, or all the dramatic news coverage, but while the microcephaly risk from Zika is real, at this point it’s lower than you might expect, given the alarms.

Zika Virus Is Not Ebola

Posted February 2nd, 2016 at 11:35 am (UTC-4)
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In many ways Zika represents a form of endemic illness that is becoming more and more familiar. We can assume that Zika will eventually distribute to many of the same areas covered by dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and West Nile virus — all of which are carried by the same mosquito.

Nearing Triumph Over Ebola

Posted December 30th, 2015 at 9:27 am (UTC-4)
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Stopping the Ebola virus, despite the late start and the huge challenge of working in countries with woefully poor health systems, was an example of what the world can do once it acknowledges an emergency and provides the resources needed to save lives.

Transforming the Health, Well-Being, and Livelihoods of Millions Across the Globe

Posted December 15th, 2015 at 9:44 am (UTC-4)
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This year marks a decade of American leadership in the global fight against malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative. Retired Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, the US Global Malaria Coordinator, reports the hard work is paying off.

Ebola Doesn’t Disappear at Zero and Neither Will We

Posted June 24th, 2015 at 10:42 am (UTC-4)
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US agency remains engaged in Africa’s Ebola-affected countries even as case numbers drop and the story fades from the media. USAID says its goal is getting to zero Ebola cases, and helping governments be better prepared to stop future outbreaks from spiralling into full-fledged epidemics.