The Dreaded Zika Virus

Note: These thoughts only pertain to the reason of people not competing in/going to Rio due to the worry of Zika. If Zika starts to spread in the U.S. that's a much bigger problem.

I feel like everything in the news over the past few months has led us to believe that Zika is the new deadly plague. I admit that outside of what they said the effects of the virus are, I kind of ignored what exactly Zika was. I finally figured that I should do some research to figure out just how harmful it is to most people.

The results of my research conclude that if you are not currently pregnant, or do not have immediate plans to conceive, you are safe.

Based on available evidence, the CDC says, "We think that Zika virus infection in a woman who is not pregnant would not pose a risk for birth defects in future pregnancies after the virus has cleared from her blood. From what we know about similar infections, once a person has been infected with Zika virus, he or she is likely to be protected from a future Zika infection."

I also researched how long it takes for the Zika virus to clear from one's blood. The answer is about two weeks. But to be safe, if someone gets Zika and would like to get pregnant soon, she should wait about eight weeks to be safe.

It has been proven that Zika can be sexually transmitted, so males are at risk of passing along the virus. Researchers are actually more worried about the virus lasting longer in men. The testes is a part of the body where viral diseases can persist for a longer period of time. Advice is for men who are infected to wait six months before having unprotected sex.

Now, to be clear, Zika has the potential to be very harmful to that currently pregnant/soon-to-be pregnant demographic. The risk of Zika is microcephaly, a birth defect for which there is no cure. And of course, no one would willingly want to put themselves in harm's way of that. Completely understandable and validated why people in this group is skipping out on Rio.

I'm certainly no doctor or anything close to a medical professional, but unless you fall in that certain demographic, I think athletes should start citing something else besides Zika as their reason to withdraw from the Olympics.

Are the numerous other issues to worry about in Rio? Absolutely! But it doesn't seem like Zika, with a few exceptions, should really be one of them.

Articles explaining Zika:
CDC
STAT