Battle against Aedes mosquito is not lost: Rousseff

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday denied that her government has failed to control the proliferation of Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits such diseases as dengue, chikungunya fever and the zika virus.

Rousseff made the statement to rectify Health Minister Marcelo Castro's words earlier this week.

"Marcelo does not think the battle is lost. He meant to say that if we do not stick together, and if the population does not do their part, then we will lose this war. He is absolutely right about that," Rousseff said during a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Quito, Ecuador.

Castro's words had reportedly caused tension with the president as Brazil is facing a potential epidemic of dengue, chickungunya and zika.

Brazilian physicians discovered the link between zika and microcephaly cases in newborns during the second half of 2015, noticing a sudden rise in microcephaly cases in regions where zika outbreaks had taken place months before.

Scientists found traces of zika virus in the spinal fluid of microcephalic babies and in the amniotic fluid of zika-stricken women who were expecting babies.

The government had intensified efforts to reduce the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is faster during summer season that Brazil is going through right now.

Some 270 cases of microcephaly have been confirmed in Brazil according to an official statement released earlier Wednesday, while the suspected cases in the country have surpassed 4,000.

However, the government did not relate zika virus to all the microcephaly cases.

President Rousseff promised that the government will do its best to tackle the issue. Endi