Vectors and Pest Control

NEHA's Director of program and partnership development, Dr. Sandra Whitehead, is quoted in USA Today article on the potential impact of hurricanes on Zika in Florida:

At the request of Governor Alejandro García Padilla, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell today declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico, signaling that the current spread of Zika virus poses a significant threat to public health in the Commonwealth relating to pregnant women and children born to pregnant women with Zika.

NEHA's Executive Director, David T. Dyjack, Dr.Ph, CIH, was interviewed by  Steven Ross Johnson of Modern Healthcare on the Zika virus: 

Read Article: "Years of budget cuts have left some cities and states ill-prepared to stop Zika spread"

The threat of Zika is real and growing every day. Environmental health professionals know that the best way to stop Zika is a strong investment in vector control programs and working within your communities at a profoundly local level.

After speaking with the scientific community, the White House asked Congress for a $1.9 billion investment to both combat Zika Virus and provide mosquito control in February 2016. That figure was turned down.

I just had an opportunity to get the most recent briefing from the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC and NIH about the situation involving Zika.  And so I wanted to speak to the press just briefly about it, and the American public.

As all of you know, there has been an enormous spread of Zika throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, and Puerto Rico.  We have not yet seen cases that were transmitted on the continental United States, but we do know that the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus exist on the continental United States.

We Need Your Help Today!

Please contact your Members of Congress and Senators ASAP to request that they support $1.9 billion in emergency funding for Zika.
 
As Environmental Health professionals, you all know that the best way to stop Zika is a strong investment in Vector Control programs and working within your communities.  The White House, after speaking with scientists from around the country, has asked for $1.9 billion investment to both combat Zika virus and provide mosquito control.