Due to the spread of Zika fever in Brazil, a ministry health official has advised women to avoid getting pregnant.

The fever, which stems from a virus linked to mosquito bites, has resulted in 646 reported cases in the state of Pernambuco, a region where a state of emergency has recently been declared.

“Don’t get pregnant at the moment,” said Cláudio Maierovitch, the director of the communicable disease surveillance department at Brazil’s ministry of health. According to The Guardian, Maierovitch said, “That’s the wisest course of action.”

The Zika virus is responsible for an increase in cases of micro-encephalitis, an inflammation of the fetal brain that can stunt the growth of the affected fetus' head. The BBC reports that ministry health officials have recorded two adult deaths and 1,248 cases of micro-encephalitis in 2015.

The Zika virus, which appears relatively harmless when first contracted, was first detected in Brazil back in April and has since spread to 13 states.

The majority of cases of micro-encephalitis have occurred in the north-east of Brazil. Cases, however, quickly started to appear in the south-east states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization issued a worldwide epidemiological alert because of the virus. Zika fever has also been reported in Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.

Brazilian health minister, Marcelo Castro, said that cases of Zika fever were expected to increase across the country during the summer.

There is no cure for Zika fever.

Brazil, which will host the 2016 Summer Olympics Games, is currently in a state of economic as well as political upheaval. The Brazilian economy is the worst it has been since the Great Depression.

The New York Times reports that while President Dilma Rousseff faces impeachment, around 40 percent of the 594 members of Congress similarly face charges linked to recent scandals.