Brazil's Air Force joins fight against Zika

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 19: Brazil's air force (FAB) has joined the fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the carrier of the Zika virus, a military sources said.

Accompanied by eight health surveillance agents, the air force personnel spread across Rio de Janeiro searching for possible mosquito breeding grounds, Xinhua reported.

The members 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 unit will visit about 125 houses, shops and other grounds in the centre 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 students aware of the importance of fighting the mosquito and avoiding any type of breeding ground where they 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 Rio de Janeiro, where the Olympic Games will be staged in August, at least 9,000 military personnel 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.

IANS