Brasilia, February 12 (RHC)-- Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Thursday that his country is hopeful it can develop a vaccine for the Zika virus faster than is typically required, possibly within the next 12 months.

Castro and Pedro Vasconcelos, a doctor at the Evandro Chagas Institute of Infectious Diseases, announced a partnership with vaccine researchers from the University of Texas, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with Brazil pledging $1.9 million to the effort over the next five years.

Pedro Vasconcelos said they would try to save time by conducting pre-clinical trials during the first year of research in both Brazil and the U.S., which would allow for clinical trials to begin in year two.

The Brazilian government believes that as many as 1.5 million Brazilians may have been infected by Zika. The South American country has seen by far the most cases of the virus.