American Samoa awarded $1.1 m for Zika prevention

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The pool of funding to help fight the Zika virus just got a major boost.

Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagem announces that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded the American Samoa Government $1,1 million in grant funding from the Zika Healthcare Services Program.

The congresswoman said, “This additional funding from the Zika Health Care Services Program will go to preventative measures and increased screening for those at risk,”

Since the first Zika cases were reported in the territory in the first few months of last year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been sending down personnel to work with the Department of Health on detection, prevention and monitoring of Zika case.

Pregnant mothers are a special target group in these efforts .

In Latin America, some babies born of mothers who contracted Zika while carrying, have developed a condition called microzephaly, which is the shrinking of the infant’s head and brain.

The congresswoman said she looks forward to working with the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that “we can continue to provide these preventative measures and screening that is so important to combating the disease.”

Aumua thanked Project Director at DOH, Lamanda Ioane, her team and those officials at the Department of Health and Human Services who recognized the need for these funds and the importance of combating Zika in American Samoa.

American Samoa has been one of the hardest hit regions of the U.S. and territories.

Latest DOH statistics show that suspected Zika cases has surpassed 1,000.

Congressional action has been swift in allocating funding for Zika control and eradication, .