CDC awards Puerto Rico $13M to fight Zika, other viruses

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is awarding Puerto Rico $13 million to help fight a Zika epidemic and other mosquito-borne viruses.

The CDC said Tuesday that the money will be used to create the U.S. territory's first vector control unit to help prevent and manage diseases spread by mosquitoes.

The Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust will be in charge of the project. The unit will oversee projects such as eliminating standing water and the use of larvicides and mosquito traps.

Puerto Rico has struggled with dengue, chikungunya and Zika outbreaks in the past decade.