The operation is part of the city’s effort to prevent the spread of Zika’s vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, according to a statement from Municipal Health Secretary. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes bite mostly during the daytime.
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The CDC is encouraging those who are pregnant not to travel to the affected counties.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned pregnant women to take precautions against mosquito bites when traveling to areas in Latin America and the Caribbean where there have been Zika outbreaks.
Last year, Oxitec announced plans to build an OX513A mosquito production facility in Piracicaba, Brazil, that it says will be able to protect 300,000 residents.
The Department of Health has labelled the spread of Zika virus as “a rapidly evolving situation” following the World Health Organisation’s prediction earlier this week that a “rapid geographic expansion of Zika virus” was indicated.
Without a Zika vaccine and with little known about the causes of microcephaly, Brazil has few options available for fighting the spread of the virus and the birth defect.
Marcos Espinal, WHO’s director of infectious diseases in the Americas region, said Brazil is conducting studies to determine if there is scientific evidence that Zika virus causes birth defects and neurological problems. In fact, 80% of those infected never know they have the disease.
Two airlines began issuing refunds to Tropics-bound travelers anxious about the growing Zika virus outbreak as more cases of the mosquito-borne illness were reported in the U.S. There is no vaccine for Zika.
Chan cited four main reasons why World Health Organization was “deeply concerned” about Zika: The possible link to birth defects and brain syndromes, the prospect of further spread, a lack of immunity among people living in the newly affected areas and the absence of vaccines, treatments or quick diagnostic tests for the virus.
Zika was first reported in Africa, Asia and the Pacific before leaping to the Americas, where it has been linked to a jump in the number of babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads, particularly in Brazil.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said yesterday she had asked a summit of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to launch “cooperative action in the fight against the Zika virus”.
The CDC said doctors should ask all pregnant patients about recent travel and specific symptoms, such as a sudden fever or rash.
There have been several confirmed cases of the Zika virus in New York, Florida, Texas, and California.
“Our recommendations have been that if an athlete is pregnant that they will probably not travel and that they not get pregnant when they first come back”, he said.
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The virus poses the biggest risk to pregnant women.
