Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday announced that 3,177 pregnant women in the country were diagnosed with the Zika virus but there was evidence the virus has caused any cases of the birth defect known as microcephaly.

Santos added that medical-scientific team from the US will soon arrive in Colombia to help investigate the mosquito-borne virus.

According to health officials in Brazil Zika is responsible for unusual number of microcephaly cases, in which children are born with unusually small heads. The scientists are yet to confirm the link but the rising number of cases has prompted the World Health Organization to declare an emergency over the virus.

The Colombian president says Zika apparently has affected more than 25,600 Colombians overall. On Friday, the health officials in the Latin American nation said three people had died of the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome they attributed to cases of Zika.

It is notable that the mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 20 countries in the Americas. The rising global concern over the Zika virus has forced the health officials to issue warning advising the pregnant women to be careful about who they kiss. The health officials have also suggested men to use condoms with pregnant partners if they have visited countries where the virus is present.

The recommendations started in Brazil, where a top health official said that scientists have found live virus in saliva and urine samples, but more study is required to prove this link.