Over the weekend, more than 200,000 soldiers were deployed across Brazil to combat the virus, spreading information and precautions to the public.
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Zika virus is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya. On Friday, Brazilian authorities announced they have confirmed 462 cases of microcephaly since October and they are continuing to examine more than 4,000 reported cases.
The Zika virus, linked to a surge in infants born with abnormally small heads, is likely to spread this year to Brazil’s densely populated cities where it has barely surfaced, a top health official told AFP.
The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito and is being linked to cases of microcephaly in babies as well as to neurological conditions such as Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS).
Wearing a white cap and short-sleeve shirt with the slogan #ZikaZero, Rousseff personally sprayed incest repellent in areas of Rio de Janeiro where mosquitoes can breed.
The US Olympic Committee has said that athletes and staff anxious about their health should think about not going.
“And for that reason we have to stop the mosquito from breeding”.
“We need to get everyone involved”, she added.
New data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health suggests that microcephaly cases may be lower than initially reported.
A researcher in Gorgas Commemorative Institute of Health Studies (ICGES), responsible for diagnostic Zika cases in Panama, makes tests at a laboratory of the institute, in Panama City, capital of Panama, on February 3, 2016.
Mumbai: Though India has not reported even a single case of Zika virus so far, the government is leaving no stone unturned in its preparations for tackling the disease in the country.
Health Minister of Brazil, Marcelo Castro, issued an official statement in a press conference that they are in partnership with University of Texas that could lead to the development of the vaccine by the end of this year.
This week, Brazil and the United States are expected to sign an agreement to jointly develop a vaccine against the Zika virus.
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With global health advisories warning pregnant women not to travel to Brazil and other Latin American countries, there are concerns that the outbreak of the Zika disease in the Americas could affect the tourism sector and be yet another blow to President Dilma Rousseff’s efforts to revive her country’s beleaguered economy.
