The Brazilian government is to send troops to fight the dengue fever epidemic in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Tuesday.
Up to 400 troops will be tasked with eradicating the conditions that allow the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, the transmitter of the disease, to breed. The soldiers will also provide diagnosis and treatment services to the infected, Jobim said.
The Ministry of Health will coordinate with the troops and decide how the anti-dengue campaign will evolve, added the defense minister.
In 1998, some 2,000 troops were mobilized to carry out a campaign against dengue fever in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
In addition to sending in troops, emergency measures to be taken by the government against dengue include creating 119 care-worker vacancies and deploying 661 medics.
Since the beginning of this year, more than 32,000 cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the state, most of them in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where at least 31 people are confirmed to have died.
Dengue is caused by four closely related viruses and is spread by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which breeds in still water. Most dengue cases are not fatal, but the hemorrhagic variant, which causes severe internal bleeding as blood vessels collapse, kills up to 20 percent of its victims.
Source: Xinhua
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