zika newBrazil President Dilma Rousseff has vowed to win the war against Zika virus. Her comments came after her own Health Minister warned Brazil was losing the war against Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries the virus.

Brazil has been the hardest hit with the virus, though it is currently present in 23 countries and territories.

The Brazilian government is deploying soldiers to help eradicate the mosquitoes that transmit it.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has called for the rapid development of tests, vaccines and treatments for Zika infections. Mr Obama convened a meeting of senior health advisers to discuss the spread of the virus and its economic and developmental impact on the Americas.

There is currently no specific treatment for Zika, and no way to prevent it other than to avoid mosquito bites.

The virus is named for the Zika forest in Uganda where the virus was first discovered in a monkey nearly 70 years ago.