The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the agency’s command center is going to its highest level of alert, a measure reflecting growing concern about the prospect of Zika virus gaining a foothold in the mainland U.S.
The decision reflects the urgent demand for CDC support. Since CDC activated the Emergency Operations Center on Jan. 22 nd, agency spokesman Tom Skinner says, the clamor “for resources has increased to the extent that we need to go to this level to meet it the demand.”
This represents the fourth time that CDC’s command center has declared a Level 1 alert. The other emergencies were Hurricane Katrina, the H1N1 flu threat in 2009 and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. During emergencies, the command center is staffed by a shifting cast of experts in fields required for the current emergency. In this case, the agency has called together more than 300 experts in insect-borne viruses, reproductive health and birth and developmental defects.
Click here to read more about the CDC going to their highest alert over the Zika outbreak.
