Obama Asks Congress For $1.8bn To Fight Zika

President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $1.8bn in emergency funding to help combat the Zika virus.

The money would be used to expand mosquito control programmes, boost vaccine research and educate health care providers and pregnant women, among other things, the White House said in a statement.

Some 50 cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been confirmed among US travellers to affected areas from December through 5 February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Zika usually causes mild or no symptoms, but mounting evidence suggests that infection in pregnant women is linked to an increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, which causes abnormally small heads and brains.

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In an interview on CBS This Morning, Mr Obama said: "What we now know is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women and women who are thinking about having a baby."

The President, however, cautioned that "there shouldn't be a panic on this".

The White House said the US "must be fully prepared to mitigate and quickly address local transmission" as spring and summer approach, bringing warmer temperatures and larger mosquito populations.

Last week, Florida declared a health emergency in five counties, where at least 12 cases have been diagnosed.

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It came a day after health officials in Texas announced that a Zika patient in Dallas acquired the virus through sexual contact - raising fresh fears about the disease.

The virus is typically transmitted through bites from infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are common in Florida, along the US Gulf Coast and states that border Mexico.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared an international emergency and warned Zika could infect up to four million people in the Americas and spread worldwide.