Quitting Rio an over-reaction: Zika experts
ONLY pregnant women and people planning a family need fear Zika, disease experts said on Wednesday after golfer Rory McIlroy became the latest athlete to withdraw from the Olympics over virus fears.
The mosquito-borne virus, which can also be transmitted via sex, is thought to cause a form of severe brain damage, c a l l e d mi c r o c e p h a l y i n babies.
It has also been linked to rare adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can result in paralysis and death.
Should Rio-bound Olympians and sports fans be concerned? We asked the experts.
A: Women who are pregnant or planning a baby imminently, as the virus targets the foetus in the womb, said Cardiff Uni- versity infectious diseases expert Andrew Freedman.
Men who contract the virus in Brazil can pass it on to their partners through sex, so would need to use condoms for several months after their return.
Unless McIlroy and his wife were planning a baby, “I feel the decision to withdraw from the Games is an over-reaction,” Freedman said.
A: In most people, the Zika virus causes mild disease – many never even notice the symptoms.
Those who do fall ill, usually with a rash and flu-like symptoms, recover within days.
“Rarely, complications such as Guillain-Barre syndrome may occur,” said Jimmy Whitworth, a professor of international public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. But he called for “perspective”.
“The most credible estimates suggest no more than 10 to 20 infections with Zika among the half a million athletes and visitors going to Brazil for the Olympics.”
The World Health Organization said last week there was a “very low risk” of Zika spreading further internationally as a result of the Games.
Olympics host Brazil has seen 1.5 million people infected, and nearly 1,300 babies born with abnormally small heads and brains since the outbreak started last year.
A: For most people, the main thing is to protect oneself against mosquito bites by covering up and using a good insect repellent, the experts said.
But pregnant women should not travel to Rio at all.
Those considering a baby, who do not fall ill, should delay conception for two months after their return as a precaution, Whitworth said.
“In the unlikely event of a woman or her partner getting infected with Zika, they should delay pregnancy egnancy for six months,hs, by which time all traces of Zika infection n will have been clearedeared from the body.” ”
A: The chances of contracting Zika on a golf course are very low, said Whitworth, as infecting mos- quitoes live mostly around houses and rarely venture more than 50 metres (160 feet) from their breeding sites. “Obviously I don’t know the reasons for [McIlroy’s] decision, but it does strike me as being extreme,” added virology professor Jonathan Ball of the University of Nottingham. But Peter B Barlow, an infection expe expert at Edinburgh Napier University,Un said the long-term effects of Zika are poorly u understood. “It is co completely understand standable that an elite ath athlete such as Rory McIlroyMc [pictured, AFP]A is putting his o own and his family’s health first in this instance, particularly i f heh has plans to startsta a family in the near future.”