Obama Asks Congress for $1.8 Billion to Combat Zika Virus

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday requested more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight an outbreak of the Zika virus, which has spread to 26 countries and territories in Central and South America, though not yet to the United States.

The money would go toward expanding programs that control mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, as well as research into vaccines and new public education programs, particularly for pregnant women, the president said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”

Brazil, which has been among the countries hardest hit by the virus, has reported a significant increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads, a condition that may be linked to the virus.

 Mr. Obama’s request to Congress came as the White House was trying to strike a balance between being responsive to the outbreak and not provoking alarm. Two years ago, the administration initially played down the risk that the Ebola virus would spread to the United States, only to reverse course after the diagnosis of several cases here. Mr. Obama, angered by the slow response, appointed a special coordinator to handle the outbreak.So far, there have been no documented cases that the Zika virus has been transmitted by mosquitoes within the continental United States. But there have been 50 confirmed cases of the virus in people who traveled to infected areas and then returned to the country.

“The good news is this is not like Ebola — people don’t die of Zika; a lot of people get it and don’t even know that they have it,” Mr. Obama said in the interview with Gayle King. “What we now know, though, is that there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women or women who are thinking about getting pregnant.”

Even so, fears about the virus are affecting an array of other issues, including whether American athletes should reconsider plans to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games in August.

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said on Monday that athletes should ask their doctors whether they should rethink their plans. He called on Congress to swiftly approve the emergency funding request.

“This sort of falls in the category of things that shouldn’t break down along party lines,” he said.

Previous public health scares have quickly mutated into political crises. The White House’s halting response to the Ebola virus hurt Democratic lawmakers in midterm elections in 2014, and the Zika virus has prompted a well of concern on Capitol Hill.

On Friday, Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Mr. Obama urging him to develop a multifront strategy for combating Zika that would include a range of agencies, from the Department of Health and Human Services to the United States Agency for International Development.