Spotlight: Brazil mobilizes troops to combat mosquito-borne virus

Brazil is mobilizing 220,000 troops to curb the spread of the mosquito-borne zika virus, which can lead to birth defects, Defense Minister Aldo Rebelo said Wednesday.

Troops will be dispatched to states most affected by the disease following warnings by the country's health officials that Brazil was "losing the battle" against the mosquitos.

BATTLE AGAINST MOSQUITOES

The troops will be deployed in the most affected areas to help raise residents' awareness of the risks, pasteurize houses and clean up such areas as stagnant pools of water and old tires where the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes assemble and breed.

"If we don't mobilize the entire community, government agencies will have a tough time eradicating the mosquitos," said Rebelo, adding that the troops will concentrate on the 115 cities designated by the Health Ministry, where the virus is endemic.

"The troops and health officials will teach the residents how to apply larvicide in breeding areas, if necessary," he added.

Brazil's Social Development Ministry also announced it will provide monthly allowances to help cover the medical costs of the families with infants diagnosed with microcephaly.

The Brazilian government has reported 4,180 suspected microcephaly cases since October, 270 of which have been confirmed. It also declared a public health emergency in November after doctors in the country's underdeveloped northeast region reported the soaring but usually rare birth defects.

Earlier this week, local G1 news website quoted Health Minister Marcelo Castro as saying Brazil was "losing the battle" against the mosquitos that carry zika, dengue and chikungunya.

"For nearly 30 years, the mosquitos have spread diseases among our population and since then we have been fighting them, but we are losing the battle against the Aedes aegypti," Castro said.

However, the statement, sparking an outcry throughout the country, was refuted by President Dilma Rousseff Wednesday.

"The battle is not lost. What (Castro) said was 'If we don't work together, if the population does not participate, we are going to lose this battle,' and he's absolutely right," Rousseff said, pledging to make an "extreme effort" to eliminate the mosquitos.

PATIENTS' EXPERIENCES

Also on Wednesday, Argentina and Nicaragua each reported the first two confirmed cases of zika.

In Argentina, the two patients, including a man and a woman, have both traveled to Colombia recently, where health administrations took a drastic step last week, warning the would-be mothers should delay getting pregnant until the epidemic subsides.

Jose Luis Canovas, one of the patient, told local radio station LU5 in his home province of Nequen that he had vacationed in the Colombian island of San Andres.

Canovas said he found something wrong after he returned home.

It was a "skin rash, very small, like a heat rash on your arms. I had a severe headache and my eyes hurt," he added.

"No matter how much repellent you used to be, the mosquitoes would devour you anyway," he said.

Another victim, a 23-year-old Colombian woman living in Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, has also traveled to Colombia to visit her family. Many of those infected have reportedly been visiting Colombia.

In Nicaragua, government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said lately that two women in the country have tested positive for the zika virus, and are receiving treatments.

In Central America, El Salvador has the most reported cases of 5,400, followed by 600 in Honduras, 300 in Guatemala, 38 in Panama, two in Nicaragua and one in Costa Rica.

SEVERE ZIKA SPREAD IN LATIN AMERICA

Health authorities throughout Latin America are working to contain the zika virus since it was officially confirmed a week ago to have a link to the sudden spike in microcephaly case. Infected infants were born with abnormally small heads and retarded development.

Infected mothers and those bitten by the Aedes aegypti mosquitos may suffer only mild symptoms of fever, joint pains, rashes and conjunctivitis.

A team of Brazilian researchers last Wednesday warned the virus can infiltrate the placenta and infect the fetus.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued an epidemiological alert against the zika virus in May, but given the relatively mild effects of the mosquito bite, it wasn't until growing evidence suggested a link to birth anomalies that governments sprung into action.

The virus is "now circulating in 18 countries and territories of Latin America and the Caribbean," PAHO said in its latest update on Jan. 18, recommending countries "to strengthen the prenatal care" and continue their efforts to eradicate the mosquitos. Endi