Rousseff: national mobilization to combat transmitter of Zika virus
Recife (PE) - President Dilma Rousseff during the meeting to discuss actions to combat the following diseases: dengue, Chikungunya and Zika, transmitted by Aedes aegypti
President Dilma Rousseff said today (Dec. 5) that to combat the mosquito Aedes aegypti, responsible for transmitting Zika virus to humans, connected to cases of microcephaly in 16 Brazilian states, is the key measure to deal with the problem and requires a large mobilization of society throughout Brazil.
"It is important that society realizes that this is a war action against the mosquito, it is not a national day. The action needs to be daily and permanently taken, until we develop a vaccine against Zika," she said. "Society must be mobilized to completely remove stagnant water. The combat is against the mosquito breeding, which needs stagnant water and high temperature to breed."
The statements were made in Pernambuco, after meeting with State Governor Paulo Câmara, and northeastern local mayors affected by the large increase in cases of microcephaly. Pernambuco has the highest number of cases of the disease connected to Zika virus.
The president pointed out that Brazil is the first country to have to deal with the problem and that the government will encourage researches searching for immunization. "It's not something with an extensive literature and many international cases. There are studies by the World Health Organization, but we are the first and severe history case. Therefore, the researchers' dedication will be very important," she declared.
Recife (PE) - President poses for photo with health workers, who will carry out actions against the following diseases transmitted by Aedes aegyptii
Rousseff also noted the need to treat people who suffer from the disease and inform them about the risks that can result from Zika virus infection. "We will also raise the number of tomography scans and blood tests to better understand the connection between Zika virus and microcephaly," she reported.
The president also announced that a meeting will be arranged with all the governors and mayors' associations in Brasília next Tuesday (Dec. 8), to address the issue and coordinate national measures.
Reducing cases
This week, the Health Ministry changed the criteria to diagnose microcephaly connected with Zika virus and, as recommended by the World Health Organization, adopted 32cm as the starting point measure of head circumference in order to screen and identify possible defect in the skull of non-premature babies.
Until then, only cases in which the baby was born with less than 33 cm of head circumference had reasons to be suspected of the disease. According to the Health Ministry, the change aimed to investigate a larger number of babies. Once they measure the head circumference, the child needs to undergo further medical tests to confirm the diagnosis. After the ministry determination, part of the 1,248 suspected cases of microcephaly shoud be discarded. According to the Health Ministry, for the Brazilian population, 33 cm is considered a normal measure.
Translated by Amarílis Anchieta
Fonte: Rousseff: national mobilization to combat transmitter of Zika virus
