Rep. Peters Renews Call for Bipartisan Zika Action After Mount Hope Case

WASHINGTON, DC – Coronado's Congressman, U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, released a statement Tuesday on the Zika case and preventive spraying in Mount Hope, saying there is an urgent need for bipartisan Congressional action to confront the threat of the Zika virus.

The County of San Diego’s Vector Control Program planned to hand-spray a two-city-block area in the San Diego neighborhood this week as a preventive measure after a person in the area tested positive for travel-related Zika virus and Aedes mosquitoes were found in the same area.

The person recently traveled to a country where tropical mosquito-borne illnesses including Zika virus are active and developed symptoms upon returning home. State officials have confirmed the person had the Zika virus, which was not acquired in the United States.

Here is Peters' statement:

“The news of a Zika case in San Diego and the preventive spraying for mosquitoes in Mount Hope bring home a reality we have known for months: the Zika virus is an urgent public health crisis that requires serious and deliberate action to keep American families safe. I am grateful for the leadership of county and city health officials in responding to this case and acting to prevent the spread of the virus in San Diego.
“In July, Congress went on its longest summer break in decades, without sending a bill to the President’s desk to address Zika. Now, seven weeks later, we are back in Washington with seemingly no progress towards a bipartisan solution. Instead, we will reportedly be voting on impeaching the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and punishing Democrats, myself included, for livestreaming a protest calling for a vote to curb gun violence.
“Instead of trying to score political points, Congress should be providing the robust funding and support needed to accelerate a cure and prevent the spread of the Zika virus.”

Adult Aedes mosquitoes can transmit tropical diseases, including chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever and the Zika virus. However, no infection-carrying Aedes mosquitoes have ever been found in San Diego County or California.

County Vector Control inspectors found Aedes mosquito larvae and adult mosquitoes near the person’s Mount Hope residence, and as a result, planned to spray to kill any adult mosquitoes.

The county is acting to prevent mosquitoes from being introduced to any potential disease.

“Travel to Zika-affected countries is common, and actions to prevent Zika from spreading to local Aedes mosquitoes are vital to inhibit locally acquired human cases of this disease,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, county public health officer.