United States can ill afford to botch response to Zika

Despite its tropical roots and exotic-sounding name, Zika no longer can be viewed as some foreign, faraway menace. The virus has evolved into a real threat to the heartland of America.

No longer is Zika isolated to its origins in the African desert. No longer has its rapid spread been contained to a host of nations in Central and South America. And no longer is the bite of the Zika-spreading mosquito relatively benign.

The new strain of the virus has been linked to skyrocketing cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that produces abnormally small skulls in the heads of newborns. Other medical authorities believe it has played a role in inducing Guillain-Barr syndrome, a neurological disorder that can lead to total paralysis.

Those disturbing maladies justify utmost concern and action as the virus begins its spread across the United States. As of Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported 59 Zika infections in the U.S., including two each in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including one in nearby Stark County.

It should therefore be painfully clear that our nation must respond responsibly to slam the brakes on Zika’s pernicious spread. Globally, the World Health Organization this week designated the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern, an action it has taken only three times before in its history.

In the U.S., the CDC has been placed in its highest level of alert to monitor and coordinate the response to the virus.

POSITIVE SIGNS ON CAPITOL HILL

In Congress, too, optimistic signs of a responsible, appropriate and bipartisan response have emerged. For his part, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, has introduced bipartisan bill to accelerate development of a Zika vaccine.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr., has become a primary engine to kick-start President Barack Obama’s emergency request for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to combat the spreading virus.

Some $828 million of that request would fund heightened mosquito control programs in this country. Other initiatives would finance vaccine research, public health and awareness activities and support for U.S. nationals in highly infected countries.

These formal measures, coupled with common-sense strategies to avoid mosquito bites and contact with those most vulnerable to the virus, represent a solid battle plan that bipartisan bickering should not be allowed to rip asunder.

Many will remember last year that a presidential commission concluded that the U.S. botched its response to the early stages of the Ebola epidemic.

Quick action on this comprehensive battery of anti-Zika measures will demonstrate such mistakes will not be tolerated again. The package therefore should become a pressing priority when Congress reconvenes after Presidents Day recess next week.