Brazil in Battle against Zika Virus | DW News
- 8 years ago
Sidney Sa is fighting the yellow fever mosquito to stop the spread of the dangerous Zika virus in Brazil.
The Zika virus has spread like wildfire throughout Brazil. The WHO has now declared it an emergency. In the northeast of Brazil, the situation is particularly dire. Every day, health official Sidney Sa heads out with her team to destroy breeding grounds of the Aedes aegpti mosquito, for instance by dropping larvae poison into water tanks. They also raise local awareness, distribute flyers and warn people against having anything which collects water in their garden - even coconut shells. Funds are always too thin on the ground though, complains Sidney Sa. For each city, she can only visit the worst affected area. And sometimes it's impossible to make changes. People in drought-stricken regions desperately need their water tanks. The war against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which the Brazilian government has announced, seems like a losing battle. We meet up with Sidney Sa to discover more about her plight. How many homes will she manage to de-plague today?
The Zika virus has spread like wildfire throughout Brazil. The WHO has now declared it an emergency. In the northeast of Brazil, the situation is particularly dire. Every day, health official Sidney Sa heads out with her team to destroy breeding grounds of the Aedes aegpti mosquito, for instance by dropping larvae poison into water tanks. They also raise local awareness, distribute flyers and warn people against having anything which collects water in their garden - even coconut shells. Funds are always too thin on the ground though, complains Sidney Sa. For each city, she can only visit the worst affected area. And sometimes it's impossible to make changes. People in drought-stricken regions desperately need their water tanks. The war against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which the Brazilian government has announced, seems like a losing battle. We meet up with Sidney Sa to discover more about her plight. How many homes will she manage to de-plague today?