Brasilia, Jumada I 2, 1437, Feb 11, 2016, SPA -- Brazil expects to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus in about a year, Health Minister Marcelo Castro and Doctor Pedro Vasconcelos of the Evandro Chagas Institute of Infectious Diseases told a news conference Thursday. The two officials announced a partnership with the University of Texas in the United States, and Brazil pledged $1.9 million to the effort over the next five years. Castro said the vaccine could be developed in a year, more quickly than originally expected, though that did not mean it would immediately be ready for widespread application. Brazil, so far the worst hit in an outbreak of Zika that is rapidly spreading in the Western Hemisphere, is investigating a likely link between Zika infections in pregnant women and more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, or abnormally small brains in newborns. --SPA 21:08 LOCAL TIME 18:08 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w