Brazil Zika fight deploys 200,000 troops

Campaign spreads word to households on eradicating virus-carrying mosquito

A soldier on the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro explains Saturday how to combat the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus.
A soldier on the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro explains Saturday how to combat the mosquito that spreads the Zika virus.

SAO PAULO -- More than 200,000 army, navy and air force troops fanned out Saturday across Brazil to teach people how to eliminate the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads the Zika virus, which many health officials believe is linked to severe birth defects.

The nationwide offensive is part of President Dilma Rousseff's declared war on the virus that has quickly spread across the Americas.

According to Brazil's government, about 220,000 members of the armed forces accompanied by community health agents and mosquito-control teams were deployed Saturday to help educate the population on how to eliminate mosquito breeding areas in and around their homes. The teams were expected to visit 3 million homes in 350 cities to distribute explanatory pamphlets.

Wearing a white T-shirt printed with the campaign's "Zero Zika" slogan, Rousseff visited Rio de Janeiro's working-class neighborhood of Zeppelin. She was accompanied by Mayor Eduardo Paes and Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Luiz Fernando Pezao.

The president visited three homes and chatted with residents about the importance of eliminating the breeding areas for the mosquito, which also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

In one house, she sprayed insecticide in drains that could serve as mosquito breeding areas.

Rousseff said in brief comments to reporters that the Zika outbreak will not stop this year's Olympic Games from being held in Rio de Janeiro as scheduled, starting Aug. 5.

To attract the attention of commuters at Rio's main train station, an army band played Michael Jackson's music while soldiers distributed fliers with information on eliminating mosquito breeding places.

"We must all understand that combating the mosquito is a priority," said Brazilian army spokesman Col. Gerson Freitas.

The O Globo newspaper reported Saturday that troops participating in the Rio de Janeiro campaign are avoiding slums under the control of drug-trafficking gangs.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito lives largely inside homes and can lay eggs in even a bottle-cap's worth of stagnant water. The dishes beneath potted plants are a favorite spot, as are abandoned tires, bird feeders and rainwater that collects in the folds of plastic tarps.

The Zika virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and subsequently spread to parts of Asia. Brazil recorded its first case in mid-2015.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito helped the disease quickly spread across Brazil and to more than 20 countries in the region, the Caribbean and beyond, leading the World Health Organization to declare an international emergency.

Zika's immediate effects are mild, consisting mostly of a moderate fever and a rash, and only a fifth of those afflicted notice any symptoms.

But Brazilian authorities also say they have detected a spike in cases of microcephaly, a condition that leaves infants with unusually small heads and can result in brain damage and numerous developmental and health problems. The link between Zika and microcephaly remains unproved.

Since October, 5,079 suspected cases of microcephaly have been reported, Brazil's Health Ministry said Friday. Of those, 462 cases had been confirmed and 765 discarded. Of the confirmed cases, 41 have been connected to Zika.

The World Health Organization said Saturday that a rare neurological disorder is also on the rise in several Latin American countries with outbreaks of the virus.

The United Nations health body in Geneva said in a weekly report that Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause temporary paralysis, has been reported in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Suriname and Venezuela.

However, the health agency said "the cause of the increase in GBS incidence ... remains unknown, especially as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus have all been circulating simultaneously in the Americas."

While "no scientific evidence to date confirms a link between Zika virus and microcephaly or GBS," the agency pointed out that Guillain-Barre also was observed during the 2013-14 Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia.

In Brazil, which has been hardest hit by the current Zika outbreak, the state of Bahia in July reported 42 cases of Guillain-Barre, 26 in patients with a history of symptoms consistent with Zika virus infection. In November, seven patients in Brazil presenting Guillain-Barre were confirmed by laboratory tests to have a Zika virus infection, the WHO reported.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Guillain-Barre symptoms include muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. In the most serious cases, the muscle weakness can affect breathing and a breathing tube may be needed.

Information for this article was contributed by Yesica Fisch and Kirsten Grieshaber of The Associated Press.

A Section on 02/14/2016

Upcoming Events