The Female Olympian’s Dilemma
The Female Olympian’s Dilemma
With the 2016 Summer Olympics, which are being held in Zika infested Brazil, coming up mighty soon, female athletes are showing concern about traveling there to perform in the Olympics while this serious Zika outbreak is in full force there. The Zika virus is most dangerous to pregnant women, and the CDC has advised pregnant women to delay their travel plans to affected areas. And, more recently, they advised men who have traveled to affected areas to practice safe sex and use a condom with pregnant women for the entire duration of the pregnancy, as the virus can be transmitted sexually.
With the warnings for women to avoid traveling to areas infected with the Zika virus increasing daily, female Olympians are growing concerned about traveling to Brazil for the upcoming Olympics. And with good reason. They’d be putting themselves right in the danger zone, threatening the life of their own child if an unplanned pregnancy occurs. With so many people traveling to see the Olympics this summer, the risk of someone bringing it back and infecting our local mosquito population goes way way up. I’d say we’re playing with fire continuing to hold the games in Brazil. It’s a disaster just waiting to happen. Despite the danger none of the Olympic teams have argued against holding the games in Brazil or canceled their plans to travel their and compete.
Are planning on going to see the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil? Do you think perhaps discussing the danger of holding the games in Brazil should be a priority of the teams competing and officials in charge of the games?
