NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Health officials said 279 pregnant women in the United States and US territories have tested positive for Zika infection, prompting a new call from President Barack Obama for more funding to fight the outbreak spreading through the Americas.
Obama wants the US Congress to provide close to $1.9 billion for vaccine development, faster diagnostic tests, and new tools for killing the mosquitoes that carry the virus, which can cause a rare birth defect in newborns and neurological disorders in adults.
"We've got to get moving," Obama told reporters after meeting top health officials in the Oval Office.
"This has to get done over the course of the next several weeks in order for us to be able to provide confidence to the American people that we're handling this piece of business," he said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 157 pregnant women in the continental United States and another 122 in US territories, primarily Puerto Rico, had tested positive for the infection.
That's a jump from its previous report of 48 cases in pregnant women in the continental United States and 65 cases in US territories.
The Senate has pledged $1.1 billion for Zika and the House of Representatives voted to redirect $622.1 million in funding mainly by cutting programs for the Ebola virus. Lawmakers are now faced with hashing out a compromise on a funding bill.
Obama said both plans fell short. The White House has said Obama would veto the House plan.
"If I'm a young family right now, or somebody who's thinking about starting a family, this is just a piece of insurance that I want to purchase," Obama said, urging Americans to tell their lawmakers to boost funding.