The outbreak of the Zika virus in Latin America has caused worldwide concern with cases being reported and confirmed in the U.S. and Europe. Health officials are suspecting that the origin of the epidemic started during the 2014 World Cup that was held in Brazil, per ABC News.

It should be noted that the Zika virus that causes fever and rashes is not a fatal disease, but it is linked with microcephaly and a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome. Microcephaly is a disorder in newborns where the brain fails to develop resulting to a small, deformed head.

On the other hand, Guillain-Barre syndrome is a condition when a victim's immune system attacks the nervous system causing paralysis. A study made by scientists from Brazil's Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz found out that the genetic composition of the Zika virus in Brazil is similar to the Zika virus found in the islands of French Polynesia.

An epidemic occurred in French Polynesia back in 2013 and health officials believe that an infected tourist from the islands visited Brazil during the World Cup and was bitten by a mosquito that spread the virus.

However, The Independent reports that it could also have been spread during the World Canoeing Championships held in Rio de Janeiro the same year. The event is popular in the region of Oceania that brought a large number of Pacific Islanders, one of which possibly carried the virus.

The report noted that French Polynesia had an outbreak of the Zika virus in 2013 with an estimated 35,000 cases. There is a strong possibility that the virus came from South East Asia despite being first discovered in monkeys of Uganda in 1947.

The first reported human infected by the virus happened 13 years later in Nigeria, but it only resulted in about 12 cases. In South East Asia, the first case was confirmed in 1966 before being recorded in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan in the 1970s.

The first known widespread outbreak of the Zika virus happened in several islands in the Pacific back 2007. Among those affected are Cook Islands, Easter Island, Micronesia, New Caledonia, Polynesia, and Yap Island with 49 confirmed cases but no recorded deaths and even hospitalizations, per Zika Virus Net.

The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that it will hold an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee meeting about the Zika virus. The committee headed by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan will meet in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, Feb. 1, to determine if the Zika virus will be declared as an "international emergency."