Brazil's Air Force joins fight against Zika transmitting mosquito

Brazil's Air Force (FAB) has joined the fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, carrier of the Zika virus as well as dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses, according to military sources Thursday.

Accompanied by eight health surveillance agents, a unit of members of the Third Regional Air Command covered the streets of the Lapa neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro, searching for possible mosquito breeding grounds.

The unit also located zones considered at risk such as areas with stagnant water or unfrequented areas like car parks, barrels, rooftops and fountains, where mosquitoes spread more easily.

The FAB's combat command unit will visit about 125 houses every day as well as shops and other grounds in the center of Rio de Janeiro as part of the anti-Zika campaign started by the Air Force.

Almost 200,000 Brazilian military personnel are currently involved in the "Zika zero" campaign, visiting all schools to make pupils aware of the importance of fighting the mosquito at home and avoiding any type of breeding ground where the mosquito could reproduce.

During the first days, the soldiers raised public awareness by handing out flyers about how to eliminate the mosquito breeding grounds.

The government has decided to inspect around three million houses in the country's 350 municipalities.

In Brazil's southeastern state of Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympic Games will be staged in August, 9,000 military personnel from FAB began the fourth phase of the prevention operation through Monday to Friday.

Brazil is currently in a state of emergency due to the spread of the Zika virus and its possible link to the increasing microcephaly registered in the South American country. Endi