Zika Virus Could Roil American Politics This Summer

“If brokered conventions and third-party insurgencies aren’t enough, consider the chaos that Zika could bring to the United States this summer,” Politico reports.

“If the mosquito-borne virus linked to birth defects hits big — and that’s a big if — it could stir a panic like Ebola, set off an epidemic of finger-pointing and create new fear and acrimony over reproductive rights, global warming and immigration, all at the height of a presidential campaign.”

“The disease is moving northward — it’s already in Cuba and Puerto Rico, which declared a public health emergency last month and froze the price of condoms. The mosquitoes that carry Zika are well-entrenched in some southern states and expected as far north as New York City by July.”