Congress Battles It Out Over Zika Virus Finding After First Death

May 9, 2016

Congress Battles It Out Over Zika Virus Finding After First Death The Democrats and Republicans are currently in a serious fight over the $1.9 billion in funds President Obama requested to aid in the fight against the Zika virus. Republicans have been doing everything they can to block the bill from being passed since it was introduced months ago. The recent death of a 70 year old in Puerto Rico who contracted the Zika virus has lit a fire under the Democratic representatives in Congress, with many of them now speaking out strongly against the Republican representatives who have been blocking the emergency funding bill from being passed. The Puerto Rican man who died recently had contracted the Zika virus and then was supposedly clear of it, but was rushed to the hospital when he started bleeding internally soon after. Officials claim the cause of death was thrombocytopenia, "a severe drop in the number of platelets that can lead to severe bleeding." This is the first officially documented death in the United States linked to Zika-related complications. "The death of an American citizen should serve as a wake-up call to all those in Congress who continue to block our efforts to stop the spread of this virus," Sen. Bill Nelson said Friday. "While this may be the first Zika-related death in our country, it won't be the last if Congress does not start taking this virus seriously." I'm inclined to agree with the Senator, especially with the warm summer weather elevating the likelihood of the virus entering the United States. We are running out of time, and it doesn't look like we are even close to being prepared for any kind of worst case scenario. Do you think Congress should pass the emergency funding bill? Do you think the United States is prepared to deal with this virus?