Quote

I think we have other things to worry about than some Zika virus.

The bottom line is, if you're pregnant, don't travel to an area where Zika is spreading.

With over 20 million residents and 100 million tourists, we must stay ahead of the possible spread of the Zika virus and take immediate action to ensure Florida is prepared.

Zika has arrived on our shores, and the number of local infections is continuing to grow. Thankfully, companies like SpringStar are doing incredible work developing innovative tools to stop the spread of Zika. It's more important than ever that Congress provide the resources to deploy these technologies to the communities who need them.

Zika is spread by mosquitos. They are tough to control. It will bite four or five people at one blood meal. They can breed in the amount of water it takes to fill up a bottle cap or, theoretically, even a drop of water. You have to get rid of maybe 90% of them or more before you protect people.

Every health threat has a different nature and characteristic and appropriate response. Zika is a particular risk to pregnant women who reside in or thinking of traveling to places where Zika is spreading.

The way Zika spreads is primarily through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in places that don't have screens and air-conditioning.

Since the first large Zika outbreak ever recognized, in 2007, the CDC has had boots on the ground responding. Our laboratories have developed a test that can confirm Zika in the first week of illness or in a sample from an affected child.

Know that the tiger mosquito - Aedes albopictus - sometimes spreads viruses that spread like Zika, so it may be able to spread Zika.

After all it really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic.