Amid Zika Concerns, Athletes Are Freezing Sperm Before Heading to Rio Olympics

Photo: Chris Carlson/AP

In most people, Zika causes flulike symptoms that last just a few days, but, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, it can also lead to microcephaly – which causes developmental issues – in the babies of infected mothers.

“My wife and I would like to have another kid. And I’m no spring chicken. I don’t want to get Zika and have to wait an additional year, or whatever it may be, for us to have kids,” the coach of the American men’s indoor volleyball team told theNew York Times. “I’m paying attention to Zika and I’m concerned about it. It’s not going to stop me from going down there, but I’m taking measures right now.”

British long jumper Greg Rutherford is also planning on freezing his sperm. In an op-ed inStandard Issuemagazine, his wife Susie Verrill explained this precaution and why she was planning on staying home from the Olympics.

“We’ve also made the decision to have Greg’s sperm frozen,” she wrote. “We’d love to have more children and with research in its infancy, I wouldn’t want to put myself in a situation which could have been prevented.”

Verrill continued, “Specialists still also don’t know the ins and outs of Zika, so even though it looks as though there’s no real issues should [1 1/2-year-old son] Milo get bitten, it’s just another thing we don’t want to chance.”

Other athletes are less concerned about the risk of contracting Zika, believing it to be too small to keep them from competing in this year’s games.

She added: “In my mind, there’s no point in necessarily worrying about it if there’s nothing you can really do. Take the precautions you can, and forget about it.”

source: people.com