With the Rio Olympics on the horizon, it seems that athletes everywhere are talking about the Zika virus. But Francisco Rodriguez, a MLB pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, actually has firsthand experience with the mosquito-borne illness.
The 34-year-old told ESPN that he contracted the virus in Venezuela during the offseason. Now, he is encouraging Olympic athletes to educate themselves on the disease before heading to Brazil in August.
“If they have plans to have kids in the future, you’ve got to think about it,” Rodriguez told ESPN. “You have to be aware of that as well. You have to do some homework, some research about it.”
Since baseball is not currently an Olympic sport, Rodriguez doesn’t have to worry about his participation in Rio. However, he “wouldn’t blame” other athletes for withdrawing from the Games due to the virus.
While Zika is particularly dangerous to pregnant women, since it can cause birth defects, Rodgriguez said it took him two months to fully recover from the virus, and that the effects were far worse than the common cold.
“It wasn’t a cold, trust me,” he said. “It wasn’t a cold. A cold, you have a sneeze, have a headache, take a couple Tylenol and you’re done. You don’t have a cold for two weeks, you don’t have a bodyache for two weeks, you don’t have headaches, throwing up, weaknesses for two weeks.”
What You Should Know About Zika, The Virus That’s Harming Unborn Babies’ BrainsHealth by CREDIT: AP Photo, Martin Mejia News of the Zika virus has come to the Americans in urgent warnings straight…thinkprogress.orgConcern over the virus has been growing rapidly over the past few weeks. Last month, Dr. Amir Attaran, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, warned that because of Zika, the Olympics could lead to a “global catastrophe” if they are not rescheduled or canceled. Since so little is known about Zika right now, the fear is that the influx of foreigners to Rio during the Olympics would speed up the spread of the virus and create a world-wide epidemic.
Last week, 150 top scientists and doctors wrote an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) saying the plans for the Games should be changed “in the name of public health.”
WHO has rejected the call to move the Olympics, saying the event will “not significantly alter” the spread of the virus. However, the organization has issued a global health emergency over the virus, and advised pregnant women not to travel to affected areas.
Golfers Marc Leishman and Vijay Singh have already withdrawn from the Games due to the virus, and high-profile athletes such as tennis champion Andy Murray, former No. 1 golfer Rory McIlroy, and NBA star Pau Gasol are already reconsidering their participation in the Games because of it.
But, of course, most of the athletes who are suggesting that they will skip Rio are wealthy and participate in sports that don’t revolve around the Olympics. It’s a much more difficult decision for athletes competing in sports such as gymnastics, track and field, and even rowing, that don’t get as much attention year-round.
Still, as Rodriguez knows all too well, Zika is nothing to take lightly.
“It’s something people have to be careful with and worry about,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no vaccine for it. It’s not like you take a shot and [improve]. … It could be global.”