President Dilma Rousseff has called on all Brazilians to join a “mega-operation” against the Zika virus later this month that will attempt to destroy the breeding grounds of the mosquitos that carry it.
The mass mobilisation on February 13 will involve hundreds of thousands of personnel from the armed forces as well as public officials in a house-to-house campaign to identify and eradicate the stagnant waters where the parasites thrive.
“This is a struggle to protect our families, a struggle that should unite all of us,” Rousseff told the nation in a televised address that was broadcast on all of the main TV and radio channels.
“We can’t admit defeat. The victory depends on our determination to destroy the breeding grounds.”
Her message underscored growing domestic and international concern about a virus that was unknown in Brazil until last April, but is now believed to have infected 1.5mn people there and spread to more than 20 other nations in Latin America.
More worryingly, Rousseff noted that the virus is suspected to have caused a dramatic increases in reported cases of brain defects and microcephaly in newborns. Alarmed by the trends, the World Health Organisation declared a global public health emergency earlier this week, putting Zika in the same category of urgency as Ebola.
Rousseff said US President Barack Obama had agreed that American scientists would collaborate in an international attempt to develop a vaccine, but until that was achieved, she said, the most effective course of action was to target the insects that transmit the virus.
“The war against the breeding sites is complex because they can be found everywhere so it needs the engagement of everybody,” she said, urging people to consider water tanks, flower vases, swimming pools, gutters, bottles, tyres or any container thrown away as rubbish.
“We need continuous vigilance in our homes, our workplaces, our school, and public places,” she said. “Let’s prove once more that Brazil is strong, that we are a conscientious people and that we will not be beaten by mosquitos and the virus they carry.”