Good news in the fight against Zika virus in Texas. From the Governor’s office:

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) today awarded the State of Texas a $5 million grant for Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) in order to combat the Zika virus. The grant comes as part of the supplemental Zika funding awarded by Congress to increase public health preparedness and response funding to protect Americans from Zika virus infection.

“Now that Texas has confirmed cases of local transmission of the Zika virus, this money will be crucial in our efforts to contain and combat further transmission of the virus,” said Governor Abbott. “Texas has been at the forefront of developing and implementing the strongest possible Zika response plan and we will continue to work with our local and federal partners to ensure our communities have the tools they need to combat the Zika virus.”

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has dedicated $18 million to combatting the Zika virus and implementing the state’s Preparedness and Response plan.

For more information, visit http://texaszika.org/