CDC to provide $16 million more to fight Zika locally

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is making available more than $16 million to states and territories in their fight against the Zika virus, in addition to the $25 million it had sanctioned in July.

The current Zika outbreak was first detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of the birth defect microcephaly, and has since spread rapidly through the Americas.

U.S. health officials on Monday warned pregnant women to avoid traveling to a neighborhood in Miami after the Florida government said it had identified 10 more cases of Zika caused by the bite of local mosquitoes, bringing the total to 14.

The new funding – for 40 states and territories – will be used to provide real-time data about the epidemic as it unfolds in the United States and help those affected by the virus, the CDC said on Tuesday.

Last month, the agency provided $25 million to 53 states, cities and territories as part of its ‘preparedness and response’ funding to areas at risk for outbreaks.