The number of babies born with microcephaly, a rare neurological condition that causes infants to develop abnormally small skulls, has increased dramatically in Brazil. Between 2014 and 2015, reported cases have ballooned from 200 to nearly 3,000.

While the country has declared a state of emergency in greatly affected areas, local health officials are now drawing a link between the sudden increase in microcephaly and a recent mosquito-borne epidemic caused by the dreaded Zika virus, Newsweek reported.

The Brazilian government said approximately 1.5 million people have been infected since May 2015. As of the moment, the virus has been reported in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and Puerto Rico. Experts fear that mainland United States could be next.

"It's spreading really fast," health director at the University of Texas Scott Weaver told Vox. "I think [the Zika virus] is going to be knocking on the doorstep in places like Florida and Texas probably in the spring or summer."

Spread by Aedes aegypti mosquito bites, the Zika virus only causes a mild reaction in children and adults. Symptoms include itchy rashes, fever, and conjunctivitis. Most patients make it through infection with no symptoms at all. This has led experts to call it a benign disease.

Unfortunately for the many pregnant women in South America, who are now deeply concerned over the welfare of their unborn children, the Zika virus could be a completely different story for newborns.

Researchers have announced that they have identified traces of the Zika virus in the placentas of Brazilian children born with microcephaly. They now suspect that the two are somehow linked, but they are still unsure how one can cause the other.

CNN noted that when cases of microcephaly began to rise in November 2015, doctors noticed they coincided with the appearance of the Zika virus in Brazil. They soon found out that affected mothers exhibited Zika-like symptoms during the early parts of pregnancy.

Claudio Maierovitch, one of Brazil's health ministers, has been urging women in greatly affected regions to put planned pregnancies on hold, if possible.

Meanwhile, scientist Ana Maria Bispo de Filippis told The New York Times that Brazil provides the ideal conditions for Aedes aegypti mosquitos to breed. She added that the country has "a susceptible population in which the majority of people never had contact with the disease."

For now, locals and tourists visiting affected regions are being advised to remain vigilant about keeping mosquitos away from themselves and their households. The Brazilian government assured the public that it has doubled its efforts in eradicating stagnant ponds that could potentially act as breeding grounds for Aedes aegypti.