Brazil trying to develop vaccine against Zika virus

HEALTH

Brazil trying to develop vaccine against Zika virus

The Associated Press Published Thursday, January 21, 2016 2:21PM EST

Brazil fears birth defects linked to Zika virus

Ten-year-old Elison holdshis 2-month-old brother Jose Wesley at their house in Poco Fundo, Pernambuco state, Brazil on In this Dec. 23, 2015. (AP /Felipe Dana)

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SAO PAULO -- President Dilma Rousseff says Brazil is trying to develop vaccine against the Zika and dengue viruses.

She says the Health Ministry is working with Brazilian and foreign laboratories to obtain a vaccine against dengue and the Zika viruses that are transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Brazilian officials have linked the Zika virus has been linked to the large number of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect.

The Health Ministry has said the number of cases of microcephaly has risen to 3,893 since authorities began investigating the surge in cases in October.

Rousseff also called on Brazilians to redouble their efforts to eliminate the mosquito and its breeding grounds.

She made her remarks on Thursday during a highway inauguration ceremony in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.