He’s been recruited to teach kids about sharing and eating vegetables, but now health officials are calling on Elmo and his friends on Sesame Street to warn kids about Zika virus.
As the mosquito-borne illness continues to spread across Latin America, the Pan American Health Organization – a regional arm of the World Health Organization – teamed up with Sesame Street to create an anti-Zika virus campaign.
So far, there are two 30-second clips along with three printouts the WHO is hoping parents and teachers will use around the home and classroom.
In the clips, Elmo and his friend, Raya, a new Muppet who was introduced two years ago to educate kids about hygiene and sanitation, teach kids about how standing water could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
In another video, they teach kids about wearing long sleeves and pants, while applying bug repellent before going outdoors.
“If the mosquito doesn’t bite, goodbye Zika!” Elmo tells kids in the videos.
So far, the ads are only in Spanish and Portuguese, with English coming soon. They’ve aired on “Plaza Sesamo” – the Latin American version of Sesame Street — since late March.
This isn’t the first time Sesame Street characters have been tapped to talk about controversial issues. One Muppet named Alex had a parent who was in prison, while another Muppet named Julia was created to talk about autism.
Kami, on the Nigerian series called “Sesame Square” is HIV-positive.
Like dengue, West Nile and yellow fever, Zika virus is a mosquito-borne tropical disease, meaning mosquitoes transmit the disease to humans.
Right now, more than 20 countries across South and Central America and the Caribbean are grappling with an epidemic of Zika virus.
Health officials in El Salvador, Brazil, Jamaica, Ecuador, Honduras and Colombia told residents to delay pregnancy until doctors better understand if the infection tampers with brain development in infants. So far, it’s been linked to a 20-fold increase in microcephaly in babies.
carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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