In Rio, Olympics will inspect for water to help prevent Zika

(CNN)To guard against a virus linked to birth abnormalities, Brazil's Olympic and Paralympic venues will be inspected daily during the 2016 Games in Rio Janeiro, games spokesman Phil Wilkinson said Sunday.

Inspectors will be looking for any stagnant water where mosquitoes could thrive, he said.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease that has raged in South America and other regions for several months. The virus has been linked to an uptick in babies born with a neurological condition called microcephaly which can cause abnormally small heads and serious, sometimes deadly, developmental delays.

Earlier this month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged pregnant women to postpone travel to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. The CDC also recommended women who have recently traveled to these places during their pregnancy be screened and monitored for the virus.

The CDC has also added Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde and Samoa to the list of countries where pregnant women should not travel.

Fear of the Zika virus is so fierce, some leaders have urged women in their countries not to become pregnant.