And people who contract chickenpox take a week or two to show symptoms, meaning there could be players in the Royals’ clubhouse who are infected without even knowing it.
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The Kansas City Royals have been dealt a blow to their roster by that scourge of children everywhere: chicken pox.
After making it to the World Series previous year, the Kansas City Royals have cruised to a 80-51 record, the best mark in the American League and second to only the St. Louis Cardinals (86-46) in Major League Baseball.
Alex Rios (left) is the Royals’ chicken pox patient zero.
Not much has been able to slow down the Kansas City Royals this season, but they now face an unexpected health challenge.
As noted by the report, the severity of chickenpox is higher in adults, with possible complications including pneumonia, among others.
Adults who come down with chicken pox are in for a rough ride. “Every day that passes by, you feel a little more secure that we’re going to be OK”, General Manager Dayton Moore told the Kansas City Star.
The disease is primarily spread through the air via coughing or sneezing, but it also can be transmitted by touching. And then there’s the virality of the disease, which could potentially infect more players.
Puerto Rican Rios is hitting.253 with two homers in 82 games this season while Dominican Republic native Herrera is 4-2 with a 2.12 earned run average.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the disease, which is more common among children, is more risky when contracted by adults.
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“One of the main theories is that the virus just doesn’t last as long in tropical conditions, so the likelihood of you catching it is enough reduced to make it that less contagious”, Harpaz said. Players from Latin America are more susceptible to infection because immunization rates are lower there than in the United States. “Since that point, [trainer] Nick Kenney has done a real good job of monitoring”.
