The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are granting a team of Florida researchers $10 million to research Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. University of Florida scientists will lead the regional research center, in collaboration with teams from the University of Miami, Florida International University, and the University of South Florida.
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CDC Director Tom Frieden hopes the center will develop techniques to stop the spread of diseases like Zika.
“Zika continues to be a threat to pregnant women. States, territories, and communities need this CDC funding to fight Zika and protect the next generation of Americans,” Frieden said in a news release.
The infection swept the Western Hemisphere this year, affecting more than 1,200 people in Florida and more than 33,600 people in Puerto Rico. Zika can cause mild-flu like symptoms in some, but is associated with severe birth defects in babies who contract the disease in utero. Zika is the most recent mosquito-borne disease to sweep the state, but it is not the only one: chikungunya, yellow fever, and dengue virus have taken root as well. The state’s warm climate, urban density, and residents’ travel patterns make Florida especially vulnerable to mosquito-born diseases. But lead researcher Rhoel Dinglasan at the University of Florida says these factors also make the state a ‘real-world laboratory’.
“Florida really is ground zero. We are the gateway for vector-borne diseases into the United States. But we have the research capability to stop them,” Dinglasan said in a written statement.
The research center will also help train public health experts and local mosquito control managers, in order to combat a shortage of workers.
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