Brazil’s sprawling favelas bear the brunt of Zika

Efforts to stamp out the mosquito that carries the virus are undermined by poverty in the most vulnerable areas

With rubber gloves, a plastic container full of larvicide and the official badge of Rio de Janeiro's epidemic control department, Gilberto de Souza gains permission to enter the home of a stranger in the Vila Canoas favela, in one of the latest missions against the Zika virus.

As the bemused residents look on, he goes room to room inspecting every sink, flower vase and empty bottle, shining his torch behind fridges and washing machines, checking every corner for possible mosquito breeding areas.

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