The Houston Health Department (HHD) requests City Council approval of an ordinance authorizing an agreement between the City of Houston and Harris County Public Health (HCPH) to support the ability to respond to investigations or potential cases of Zika virus transmission among pregnant women and their infants, enrolling pregnant women into the registry, and ensuring follow-up interviews are conducted in pursuant with the goals stated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Zika Interim Response Plan and the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement.
The Effective Date of this Agreement is the Date Countersigned by the City Controller herein and will continue in effect through July 31, 2018 (“Initial Term”), with two (2) consecutive one-year renewal terms beginning August 1, 2018. The total contract amount is $105,686.25
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika. Therefore, the City and HCPH are collaborating in an effort to improve mosquito control and monitor the population levels of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes in Harris County pursuant with the goals stated in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Interim Response Plan and the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement.
Under the proposed agreement, HCPH will: Enhance surveillance of pregnant women with possible Zika virus exposure (through travel or sexual route) to identify women with laboratory evidence of Zika virus infection; Ensure registration of eligible pregnant women into the US Zika Pregnancy Registry. Ensure data collection and management associated with pregnant and infant cases who meet US Zika Pregnancy registry inclusion criteria.Ensure complete data is transmitted to the US Zika Pregnancy Registry in a secure and timely manner; Coordinate with the Texas Birth Defects registry the investigation and reporting of Zika virus disease cases with severe clinical manifestations (e.g., congenital infection with microcephaly or other birth defects)..