President Obama Holds Meeting on Zika Virus

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On January 26, The President met with leaders of his health and national security teams to discuss the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne viruses in the Americas as well as steps being taken to protect the American public. 

The President’s senior health advisors, including Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, and NIH/NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, briefed him on the factors that could affect the potential spread of the Zika virus in the United States, as well as recently issued travel advisories and guidance for domestic health care providers who care for pregnant women. 

The President was briefed on the potential economic and developmental impacts of the Zika virus spreading in the Western Hemisphere.  

The President emphasized the need to accelerate research efforts to make available better diagnostic tests, to develop vaccines and therapeutics, and to ensure that all Americans have information about the Zika virus and steps they can take to better protect themselves from infection.  

Source: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary