--- title: Hillary Clinton's Plan to Fight the Zika Virus description: Hillary Clinton called the Zika virus a "serious and urgent threat" to the U.S. in a post on the question-and-answer website Quora. canonical: https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/ author: IDEAS Desk article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-29T19:21:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:09:34.297Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Fight 'Serious and Urgent' Threat of Zika Virus og:description: She responded to a question on Quora og:url: https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acb52f0be822ee1/69889143bc6cfcc9373dcc94/clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del., on April 25, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Fight 'Serious and Urgent' Threat of Zika Virus twitter:description: She responded to a question on Quora twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acb52f0be822ee1/69889143bc6cfcc9373dcc94/clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Fight 'Serious and Urgent' Threat of Zika Virus by [IDEAS Desk](https://time.com/author/ideas-desk/) ## IDEAS Desk Apr 29, 2016 7:21 PM UTC  Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del., on April 25, 2016. Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del., on April 25, 2016.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [IDEAS Desk](https://time.com/author/ideas-desk/) ## IDEAS Desk Apr 29, 2016 7:21 PM UTC Hillary Clinton called the Zika virus a “serious and urgent threat” to the U.S. on Friday. In a [post on the question-and-answer website Quora](https://www.quora.com/How-would-we-go-about-stopping-the-spread-of-the-Zika-virus-in-the-US/answer/Hillary-Clinton?srid=hr3y&share=9a738da5), she wrote: “To put it simply, there’s a lot we need to do—and fast. We don’t yet know everything about this disease, but what we’re learning is alarming.” There have been more than 900 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. and its territories, Clinton wrote. On Friday, officials [reported](http://time.com/4312793/first-us-zika-virus-death-puerto-rico/) the first death in Puerto Rico linked to the virus, which has also been connected to [birth defects.](http://time.com/4292697/zika-birth-defects-microcephaly/) **Read more:** [How the United States Is Bracing for Zika](http://time.com/4304851/how-the-united-states-is-bracing-for-zika/) Clinton called for more public education about the virus’ dangers, the development of a rapid diagnostic test, investment in treatment and a vaccine, better mosquito control and abatement, and improved access to health and family planning services. “We need to do everything we can to fight Zika—but we can’t do that without adequate resources,” she wrote. “Congress should immediately provide emergency funding for Zika testing and treatment, mosquito control, family planning, and to support maternal and infant health.” **Read more:** [Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Congress Must Act Immediately to Combat Zika Virus](http://time.com/4300040/congress-must-act-on-zika-virus/) The White House [requested](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/22/letter-president-zika-virus) $1.9 billion in Zika emergency funding from Congress in February. The Senate [adjourned](http://time.com/4312383/zika-funding-stalled-senate/) for a week-long recess Friday without making a decision on funding. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Fight 'Serious and Urgent' Threat of Zika Virus","datePublished":"2016-04-29T19:21:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:09:34.297Z","description":"She responded to a question on Quora","url":"https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/","keywords":["politics","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acb52f0be822ee1/69889143bc6cfcc9373dcc94/clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"IDEAS Desk","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ideas-desk/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1acb52f0be822ee1/69889143bc6cfcc9373dcc94/clinton6.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del., on April 25, 2016.","caption":"Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a Get Out the Vote rally at World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Del., on April 25, 2016.","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4312845/hillary-clinton-zika/","name":"Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Fight 'Serious and Urgent' Threat of Zika Virus"}}]}] ```