AHA and CDC update hospitals on Zika virus preparedness and response

The AHA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today hosted a call for hospital and health system leaders on the latest developments regarding Zika virus. “The AHA has been working with the CDC to ensure that hospitals and health systems have the latest information about how to prevent and diagnose Zika and how to protect our patients, caregivers and communities,” said AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels. “With confirmation of local Zika transmission in Miami and the possibility of more local transmission in the continental United States, we are committed to ensuring health care providers have the very latest information and resources available.” On the call, CDC officials said they plan to release soon a document describing essential Zika considerations for health care settings. “CDC and AHA are working together to ensure that our nation’s hospitals and health care systems are prepared to provide safe care for their patients in this battle against Zika virus,” said Michael Bell, M.D., deputy director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. For questions, health care providers can call the CDC at (770) 488-7100. For more on the Zika virus, visit http://www.cdc.gov/zika/index.html or http://www.aha.org/zika.