By Miriam Raftery

October 1, 2017 (Puerto Rico) – Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, a military hospital ship has not yet arrived while the death toll continues to mount.  Only 10,000 National Guard members have been deployed, compared to 31,000 swiftly sent after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey struck Florida and Texas. There are also far fewer FEMA personnel, CNN reports. 

Crisis comes after Congress adjourned without funding emergency Zika expenditures

By Miriam Raftery

August 12, 2016 (Washington D.C.) – Today, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell declared a public health emergency for Puerto Rico, where the rapid spread of Zika virus poses a significant threat to public health particularly for children born to women who contract Zika virus while pregnant, since it causes serious birth defects including brain damage.  Over 10,000 cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory.

“There’s a pandemic in progress.”-- Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health

East County News Service

January 15, 2016 (San Diego) – Zika virus has spread to at least 14 countries in the Western hemisphere as well as Puerto Rico. Tests have linked Zika virus to babies born with microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to be born with small skulls, brain damage and sometimes death. 

Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning urging pregnant women and women who may become pregnant to postpone travel to  Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname, and Venezuela.