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Aircraft to be sprayed with insecticide to counter Zika

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Aircraft landing in the UK from areas where the Zika virus is present are to be sprayed with insecticide.

The government announced the move today, saying it is a precautionary measure against the mosquito-born virus thought to be the cause of tens of thousands of birth defects in Brazil.

Zika outbreaks have been reported in at least 26 countries in the Americas with the situation in Brazil particularly acute, but cases have been reported in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

In the UK, the majority of aircraft from those regions are already sprayed inside as a precaution against malaria, another disease transmitted by mosquitoes. The World Health Organisation on Monday declared the rapidly spreading Zika virus to be a global emergency.

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