LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas is getting $1.3 million to fight the Zika virus.

The funding was announced in a news release issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The funding is a share of around $60 million that will be dispersed between states, cities and territories to support efforts to fight against the Zika virus and the adverse health outcomes that can result from it, including microcephaly.

“Our local, state and territorial health departments are on the front lines in the fight against Zika, and though the necessary funding that is needed isn’t yet available, we cannot wait to provide this essential support,” CDC Director Tom Grieden, MD., M.P.H said. “These CDC funds will strengthen state and territorial capacity to respond to Zika virus, an increasingly concerning public health threat.”

In August, the CDC will also award $10 million to detect cases of microcephaly and other adverse birth defects caused by the Zika virus.

The money will fund epidemiologic surveillance and investigation, strengthen laboratory capacity and improve mosquito control and monitoring.

It will also help support the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry to monitor pregnant women with Zika and their infants.

The Obama Administration has requested $1.9 billion to combat Zika virus. Public health experts say the money is “necessary” to protect the homeland. However, that budget has not been approved by Congress.

Click here for more information on the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement (ELC).