Cuba is waging war against the Zika virus as they deploy 9,000 troops to prevent its spread in the country.

Zika Outbreak is a National Fight

The presence of the virus in Cuba has not yet been detected, but President Raul Castro has released a call to arms against Zika as 9,000 soldiers, 200 police officers and citizens work together to keep the outbreak out of the country.

"The true leadership of the struggle against the threat of an epidemic is the responsibility of our entire people, since their conscious participation is indispensable if this important and necessary task is to be successful." Castro wrote in a national message. "At this time, it is imperative that all citizens and entities strictly comply with sanitation norms and measures adopted to guarantee anti-vectoral efforts, to avoid contributing to the spreading of epidemics, or other behaviors which promote or constitute a threat to public health."

Castro adds that potential breeding grounds of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the carrier of the Zika virus, should be eliminated. The troops are entering homes to fumigate and the people are in cooperation. Civilian workers and those in the military have been tasked to carefully document places that have been fumigated.

"We are fighting by using the public health system so the Zika virus does not attack our country," Cristina Suarez said, a military reservist for the campaign.

Is Cuba still Zika-free?

"There are no confirmed cases yet but there will be. To date there have been two suspected cases that turned out negative," said a health employee.

Cuba secured 24 border points in order to detect people infected by the virus. Temperature scanners have been installed in at least 10 airports and 14 seaports.

Zika Connections and Threat on Worldwide Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an international public health emergency earlier this month because of its effect on Brazilian babies. The virus is strongly suspected of being connected to an increase of birth defects called microcephaly. There is currently no cure or vaccine for Zika.

Along with microcephaly, the virus is suspected to cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing condition brought about by weakened muscles.

Not very much is known about the virus at this time and researchers are racing against time to come up with ways to treat and prevent it. The Zika outbreak has spread to over 32 countries in Latin America.

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