Brazil is currently facing a nation-wide emergency as over 2,400 cases of microcephaly among newborn babies have reported.
This prompted the country to issue a warning against getting pregnant to curb the increasing number of infants with this brain development disorder.
According to health experts, compared to last year, 2015's statistics for microcephaly cases jumped from 147 to 2,400. In addition, almost 30 infants death related to this condition have already been reported this year.
Experts believe that the cause of this disorder is the Zika pathogen which is transmitted through mosquito bites. As reported by the Washington Post, this pathogen was first seen 70 years ago in Africa.
It has now been dubbed as the new West Nile virus and can lead to grave neurological complications and death.
According to CNN, cases of Zika were only reported in Brazil in 2014. It is believed that the pathogen may have entered the country due to the huge number of tourists who visited Brazil during last year's World Cup sporting event.
Researchers were able to find traces of this pathogen after carrying out an autopsy on a deceased infant. Due to the growing number of microcephaly cases, the country is advising women to put off getting pregnant for now.
Currently, six states in Brazil have already been put under state of emergency. This includes Pernambuco, which already has over 1000 confirmed cases and deaths.
"It's a very personal decision, but at this moment of uncertainty, if families can put off their pregnancy plans, that's what we're recommending," Angela Rocha of Brazil's Oswald Cruz Hospital told CNN.
"These are newborns who will require special attention their entire lives," she added. "It's an emotional stress that just can't be imagined. Here in Pernambuco, we're talking about a generation of babies that's going to be affected."
As reported by Fox News Latino, authorities in Brazil have already started allocating necessary resources to stop the pathogen from spreading. This includes assigning over 260,000 community health agents to visit homes in different parts of the country to clean out the breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
In addition, the government has also begun distributing huge quantities of larvicide all over the country. The volume of insecticide released by authorities can fill up 3,560 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The government is also planning on giving out the same amount of larvicide next year.
