Zika Virus Outbreak in the United States: A Closer Look

Stephen Redd, MD (RADM, USPHS), Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gives a brief overview of Zika Virus.

Interview Transcript (slightly modified for readability)

“We didn’t know for sure that there would be local mosquito transmission [of Zika virus] in the United States; [however], I don’t know if I would say it was a surprise. We didn’t know if it [was going] to be in Texas, Florida, or somewhere else. We continue to learn more about Zika, almost on a daily or weekly basis. [One] of the things that has been discovered is the frequency of sexual transmission: there have been a little over 20 cases of sexual transmission of Zika virus. The spectrum of birth defects is something [else] that there is a little more information on now than there was earlier. Like most birth defects, it’s expected that as we learn more, there will be a broader spectrum of birth defects, not just that very severe outcome [microcephaly] that was identified very early on.”