This Article is From Sep 16, 2016

University Of Florida Awarded 1.7 Million Dollars To Study Zika In Haiti

University Of Florida Awarded 1.7 Million Dollars To Study Zika In Haiti

A few months ago Haiti confirmed a case of Zika-related microcephaly, a severe birth defect.

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti: The University of Florida says it has been awarded a U.S. grant of roughly $1.7 million to research the mosquito-borne Zika virus in Haiti.

The university's Emerging Pathogens Institute said Thursday that the U.S. National Institutes of Health grant will be allocated over four years.

Director Dr. Glenn Morris says it will fund work identifying Zika cases in the Caribbean nation and "help us begin to understand the risk to Florida."

A few months ago Haiti confirmed a case of Zika-related microcephaly, a severe birth defect.

But the extent of Haiti's Zika outbreak and the number of accompanying neurological disorders remains a big unknown. Haiti's severely under-resourced health sector does not have routine data collection systems that would allow experts to adequately track and document disease outbreaks.

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