Zika virus: Pentagon will relocate at-risk family members

Pregnant family members of active-duty personnel and civilian Defense Department employees assigned to areas affected by the Zika virus will be offered voluntary relocation, a Defense Department official said Monday.

Responding to a growing concern over the “explosive” outbreak of Zika virus in South and Central America as well as the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command also is identifying ways to “support partner nations,” but has not yet received requests for help, DoD spokesman Marine Corps Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway said.

Meanwhile, DoD researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Naval Medical Research units are stepping up efforts to develop vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatments for Zika and related viruses, including dengue and chikungunya, according to DoD officials.