Warning: Pregnant women have been warned to steer clear Photo: Courtesy

Pregnant women have been warned away from South America after an outbreak of a virus that has been linked to brain deformities in newborns.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the guidance yesterday warning against travel to Brazil and 13 other countries in the Americas which is currently affected by the Zika virus.

An outbreak of the virus is thought to be behind a surge in child deformities in Brazil, and local transmission of the illness has been found in 13 other countries and territories.

 Dangerous: The Aedes species of mosquito spreads the virus, and has travelled to countries across Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas. Photo: Courtesy

These countries are:

Colombia El Salvador French Guiana Guatemala Haiti Honduras Martinique Mexico Panama Paraguay Suriname Venezuela The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

The announcement was made at a press conference yesterday following the CDC's announcement on Wednesday that its doctors had found evidence of the virus in the placentas from four women in Brazil.

Two of the women had miscarried and two babies that were born died shortly after birth after they were born with small heads caused by rare condition known as microcephaly.

Speaking at the teleconference Dr. Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's division of vector borne infectious diseases, said: “We thought it was very important to warn people as soon as possible.”

More than 3,5000 microcephaly cases were reported in Brazil between October 2015 and January 2016, according to Brazilian health authorities.

And even though doctors have not yet proven the causal link between a viral infection in the mother and the birth condition of the baby the association between the two has become strong enough to warrant this action.

The Zika virus is spread through mosquito bites, and its symptoms tend to be mild, lasting from several days to a week, according to the CDC.

The Aedes species of mosquito spreads the virus, and has travelled to countries across Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas.

The most common symptoms are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes).

There is no vaccine or medicine to combat Zika, meaning the only way for travellers to protect themselves is to avoid getting bitten by a mosquito.

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