Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Wants Federal Government Ready to Help Florida Battle Zika Virus

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., urged the federal government to get ready to help Florida deal with the Zika virus. 

On Thursday, Ros-Lehtinen warned South Florida, due to its ties with Central and South America, is more vulnerable than other parts of the nation to Zika and announced her support of a bill freeing money targeted to combat Ebola be shifted to fight Zika. Ros-Lehtinen also backed having the  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “expand the neglected tropical disease product priority review voucher (PRV) program to encourage the development of new treatments for Zika virus."

"As an international hub for travel and trade, South Florida remains at risk for a variety of communicable diseases from all over the world,” Ros-Lehtinen said on Thursday. “Luckily, we’re blessed to have world-class local, state, and public health infrastructure and services, and amazing biomedical research institutions to help minimize the impacts of the inevitable arrival of each successive threat. I understand people’s fears and concerns over the Zika virus, and I want all South Floridians to know that I am exploring every avenue at the U.S. government’s disposal to ensure a comprehensive response that limits the spread of this virus as quickly as possible.”