Brazil mounts fight against Zika virus spreading before Olympics

Brazilian government is intensifying its efforts to contain Zika by waging a nationwide mosquito eradication campaign Saturday.

In accordance with an announcement circulated Friday by the country's Health Ministry, the ministry will carry out a campaign known as National Day of Mobilization for the Fight against the Aedes Aegypti, the type of mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus, in the country's 350 highly vulnerable municipalities.

"The campaign wants to invite the population to take part in the fight against the mosquito, with this campaign needing to take place house to house. Our proposal is to reach at least three million homes and distribute four million leaflets on Saturday," said Defense Minister Aldo Rebelo.

President Dilma Rousseff has also dispatched her ministers to take part in mobilization efforts in various states, both to coordinate with governors and mayors as well as to visit people themselves.

Brazil first declared a public health emergency on November 2015 against the Aedes aegypti, but the initial measures taken were deemed insufficient to curtail the spread of Zika.

More than 500,000 people, including 222,000 soldiers, have so far been dispatched to help the mosquito eradication efforts. They have already visited 23.8 million buildings across Brazil to fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue and chikungunya.

The number of the buildings being visited, involving private homes, public buildings, as well as commercial and industrial properties, represents 35.6 percent of the 67 million buildings the government has ordered to check out. Endit