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Brazil officials can access all buildings to fight mosquito

In this Jan. 26, 2016 photo, a municipal worker sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus, at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Brazil once succeeded in eliminating the Aedes, which is well adapted to humans, lives within people’s homes and can breed in just a bottle cap of stagnant water. Massive eradication efforts in the 1940s and 1950s allowed the country to be declared free of the mosquito in 1958, but over the decades the insect returned (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
In this Jan. 26, 2016 photo, a municipal worker sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus, at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Brazil once succeeded in eliminating the Aedes, which is well adapted to humans, lives within people’s homes and can breed in just a bottle cap of stagnant water. Massive eradication efforts in the 1940s and 1950s allowed the country to be declared free of the mosquito in 1958, but over the decades the insect returned (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) In this Jan. 26, 2016 photo, a municipal worker sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus, at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Brazil once succeeded in eliminating the Aedes, which is well adapted to humans, lives within people’s homes and can breed in just a bottle cap of stagnant water. Massive eradication efforts in the 1940s and 1950s allowed the country to be declared free of the mosquito in 1958, but over the decades the insect returned (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

By Associated Press 1 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazil’s president has signed a measure allowing health officials access to any building to eradicate breeding grounds for a mosquito spreading the Zika virus.

The measure signed by President Dilma Rousseff was published Monday. It allows health officials access to all homes, public and private buildings- even if the property’s owner cannot be located.

Officials can also request backup from police to raid any building suspected of being a mosquito breeding ground.

Brazil has sent about 220,000 troops to battle the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

The Zika virus has been linked with a sharp increase in reported cases of microcephaly. The birth defect causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and can lead to lasting developmental problems.