Papal Visit To Mexico 2016: Mexican CDC Prepares to Protect Pope Francis From Zika Virus

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Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Mexico Friday night for a five-day visit to the country's most remote areas. Mexican CDC laid out the steps in order to protect the pope and the public during the visit.

During an interview with Mexico City's Universal newspaper, Jesus Felipe Gonzalez Roldán, the head of the country's National Center for the Control of Disease and Protection (Cenaprece), laid out the preparations Mexico is making for Friday's big arrival, Latino Fox News reported. Pope Francis is set to visit remote corners of the country including the states of Chiapas and Michoacán where the Zika virus is most active.

According to Roldán, the country has begun aerial anti-mosquito spraying to protect the public and the holy pontiff against Zika and other diseases. The country has also conducted house-to-house fumigation in different localities.

The preventive measures will continue way after Pope Francis leaves for Rome, the reports said.

"Pope Francis will visit Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal de las Casas" in Chiapas, Roldán said as reported in Fox News. "We know that in [nearby] Tapachula, there's the problem of Zika, and what we need are preventive actions that we are currently putting into place."

The first local transmission of Zika through mosquito in Mexico was first reported in November, according to CDC. Out of the 34 confirmed Zika cases in the country, 24 happened in Chiapas.

Reuters reports more details about the pope's visit to the poorest and the most violent corners of Mexico on his first visit as pontiff. One of his agenda is to address the plight of migrants trying to reach the United States.

Over the last decade, more than 100,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug wars. There was also a reported incident of 43 abducted students that were apparently massacred in 2014.

Allegedly, President Enrique Pena Nieto's government mishandled the investigation. In turn, the relatives of the victims are asking for help from Pope Francis to uncover the truth.

Government officials have identified only one body among the remains. The remains were recovered from a garbage dump in the Guerrero in southwest Mexico.

A team of international experts investigating the case has rejected the government's conclusion of the events.

The families of the victims will be among those attending a mass that will be held in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with Texas. For several years, the city has been one of the violent cities in the world.

More so, the pope will also hold a mass with the indigenous communities and will hold a forum with young people in Morelia, the capital of violence-torn Michoacán state. Lastly, he is also scheduled to visit the prison inmates in Ciudad Juarez.

The Vatican expects a crowd of at least 200,000 on the Mexican side and of 50,000 on the U.S. side.

Check out the video below to know more about Zika virus: