AMA Urges the Administration and Congress to Take Immediate Action to Support Nation's Public Health Response to Zika Virus

Statement attributable to:

Andrew W. Gurm

an, M.D.

President, American Medical Association

"Today's news that it is highly likely that cases of mosquito-transmitted Zika virus exist in the continental United States is no surprise. This should be a wake-up call to Congress and the Administration that they must resolve their differences and immediately make the necessary resources available for our country to combat the growing threat of the virus.

"Congress and the Administration must act as quickly as possible to ensure that our country is able to deploy the kind of public health response necessary to keep our citizens safe and healthy."

For months, the AMA has vigorously

called on Congre

ss

to ensure a robust response to the Zika virus. The AMA sent

lette

rs

to Congress in May and adopted

new pol

icy

in June asking for immediate action to make available the necessary resources to prepare our nation to address the looming threat of Zika.

The AMA has compiled numerous Zika virus-related items in its online

Zika Virus Resource

Center

, including the most up-to-date information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other trusted health organizations, to help physicians prepare to handle possible cases of the virus and answer patients' questions. The AMA will continue to support health care professionals in combatting and preventing complications from the Zika virus.