Retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson said Friday that the Zika virus is "very serious" and called on the Congress and health agencies to work to eradicate it before "it becomes an epidemic."
"People with microcephaly are severely limited in terms of mental capacity, will not have the ability to take care of themselves," the former 2016 Republican presidential candidate
told Yahoo News. "Therefore, you’re talking enormous expenses — lifetime expenses for these individuals — and not to mention the psychological devastation for the family and the cost in terms of time and resources for each family involved."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the Zika virus leads to microcephaly in newborns. The condition causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other serious brain defects.
Health officials are divided over cautioning U.S. women to delay pregnancy in affected areas, Yahoo reports.
This week, the CDC said that it had confirmed the first case of the Zika virus being sexually transmitted between men,
according to ABC News.
In February, President Barack Obama asked Congress to allocate more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to help combat the Zika virus.
Legislators agreed this week to a bill that would provide financial incentives for developing vaccines and treatment — but no funding, Yahoo reports.
"It's time to educate Congress and the general populous about the dangers of microcephaly," Carson said. "What the cost implications are — they are enormous, believe me.
"If we deal with it in the early stages, we have a much greater chance of coming up with solutions and eradicating it than if we wait until it becomes an epidemic."
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