Brazil is set to deploy the military to help battle mosquitoes spreading the Zika virus.
Soldiers will go from home to home handing out leaflets on how to avoid the spread of Zika, which has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains. The announcement comes after Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Brazil was “losing badly” in its fight against the virus.
Mr Castro said the troops would be sent out on 13 February to hand out leaflets and give advice on how to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds.
He told O Globo newspaper that the spread of the Zika virus was one of the greatest public health crises in Brazilian history and the fight to eradicate it could only be won if people did their bit to eradicate the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which transmits it.
He added that the mosquito, which also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, was Brazil’s “public enemy number one”.
“Last year we had the highest number of dengue cases in the history of Brazil,” he said.
Scientists say there is growing evidence of a link to microcephaly, a condition that leads to babies being born with small heads. The Zika virus can lead to fever and a rash but most people show no symptoms or suffer any lasting effects. Other symptoms include conjunctivitis and headaches. There is currently no known cure.
However, authorities are most worried about the damage the virus can potentially cause babies in the womb. Brazil has recorded a huge spike in cases of babies born with microcephaly and a number of Central and South American nations have asked women to delay pregnancy. There have been 3,893 reported cases of microcephaly in Brazil since October compared with the previous annual average of just 160 cases.
The only way to fight Zika is to clear stagnant water where mosquitoes breed, and apply protection against mosquito bites.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the Zika virus was likely to spread across nearly all of the Americas. It has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America.
The WHO is currently warning women who are pregnant or who plan to have a baby in the next two years not to travel to the region.
