Sixteen of the 25 Connecticut patients who have tested positive for the Zika virus have traveled to the Dominican Republic, according to test results released this week by the state Department of Public Health, which also announced $320,000 in federal funding to help fight Zika here.
One other patient who traveled to the Dominican Republic tested positive for Flavivirus, meaning the patient could have contracted Zika or another related virus, like Dengue fever, but the test was inconclusive for the specific virus, DPH said in a news release.
Additionally, of patients who traveled to Haiti, the Dominican Republic’s island neighbor, one tested positive for Zika and three tested positive for Flavivirus.
As of Monday, 25 patients have tested positive for Zika virus, including three pregnant women. An additional 12 patients have tested positive for Flavivirus, including eight pregnant women. The 37 patients who have tested positive for these viruses have traveled to 12 countries or U.S. territories, mostly the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti.
DPH also said it received $320,564 in federal emergency preparedness funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the Zika virus in Connecticut. The money will be used to continue implementing the state’s Zika Surveillance & Response Plan, which was drafted in January to deal with the threat of Zika. Funding will also be used to track Zika-positive pregnant women and their babies to monitor for microcephaly, other serious birth defects and adverse pregnancy outcomes linked to Zika.
