MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – The mosquito-borne virus is suspected of having strong links to microcephaly, severe brain damage among newborns characterized by abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

Health officials in Brazil are investigating 4,200 suspected microcephaly cases after dismissing over 1,000 presumed infections.

A total of 139 newborns and miscarried fetuses have died from microcephaly in Brazil so far.

The country accounts for most of the world’s Zika cases amid a global outbreak. Over 80 percent of its cases are registered in eastern Brazil.

The virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito, which is common in tropical areas of the Americas. Zika poses little threat to the general population, although evidence suggests men can transmit the virus to sexual partners after long exposure and long after any symptoms disappear.

Another study provided evidence that the virus may cause the Guillain-Barre syndrome, affecting the immune and nervous systems that cause non-trauma related paralysis.