Brazil's government says it will deploy 220,000 soldiers in its fight against mosquitoes spreading the Zika virus, BBC News reports.

The soldiers will go from home to home handing out leaflets on how to avoid the spread of Zika, which has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains.

The announcement came after Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Brazil was "losing badly" in its fight against the virus. No treatment or vaccine is available.

Castro said the troops would be sent out on February 13 to hand out leaflets and give advice on how to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds.

He told O Globo newspaper that the spread of the Zika virus was one of the greatest public health crises in Brazilian history, BBC says.

The fight against Zika could only be won if people did their bit to eradicate the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which transmits it, Castro said.

He added that the mosquito, which also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, was Brazil's "public enemy number one."