Golfer Rory McIlroy withdraws from Rio Olympics over Zika concerns
Golfer Rory McIlroy, 27, announced Wednesday that he would be withdrawing from the Rio Olympics over concerns about the Zika virus. With golf returning to the Olympics for the first time in 112 years, McIlroy would have represented Northern Ireland in the games.
While he confessed the risk of contracting Zika is low, McIlroy is engaged to be married and planning a family. "[It] is a risk nonetheless, and a risk I am unwilling to take," he said in a statement.
Zika, which is primarily spread via mosquitos, can also be contracted through sexual contact. Other athletes have also taken measures to protect themselves in Brazil, such as freezing their sperm or abstaining from competition altogether. Spain has shipped 3,000 bottles of bug spray to Rio to protect its own athletes.
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In June, the World Health Organization advised that visitors to regions that have the Zika virus consider delaying pregnancy. Zika has been linked to thousands of cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, as well as other severe brain defects. WHO made its recommendation because there is no known treatment to keep pregnant women with Zika from transmitting the disease to their unborn babies.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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