BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil's health minister is calling on residents to join the government's battle to eliminate Zika, saying that keeping homes free of mosquitoes is the most-effective way to contain the virus.
Marcelo Castro made the remarks Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. The comments come a day before Brazil's president and her Cabinet take to the streets for one-day education campaign in which they aim to reach 3 million homes.
Castro says he has no doubt about the link between Zika and a surge in a rare birth defect known as microcephaly, despite what many see as a lack of scientific proof.
He says the federal government is pushing states and local governments to speed up tests of newborns suspecting of having the ailment.