Last month, Gasol said that he was considering skipping the Olympics due to concerns over the virus, which is spread by mosquitoes.
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Spain’s Pau Gasol is considering freezing sperm due to Zika concerns at the Rio Olympics. Gasol is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, but he said back in May that he believes athletes “have not been told enough” about Zika, which can cause birth defects in children.
The Executive Committee concurred with the global scientific consensus, reached since it last met, that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and, consequently, that Zika virus infection and its associated congenital and other neurological disorders is a public health emergency of worldwide concern. Since the Zika outbreak, there have been more than 1,500 confirmed cases of microcephaly in babies born in Brazil, according to the BBC. The organization advised people returning from Zika-affected areas to use condoms or abstain from sex for at least six weeks to ensure they wouldn’t transmit the virus to others.
The virus, which usually causes only mild, flu-like symptoms, can also trigger adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death.
The former two-time National Basketball Association champion intends to follow the lead of Great Britain long jumper Greg Rutherford, who recently froze his sperm as a precautionary measure against the zika virus.
With room for 10,000 athletes, the village is located in the Olympic Park at Barra da Tijuca, the hub of where most events will take place and the heart of Rio 2016. “It’s not going to stop me from going down there, but I’m taking measures right now”.
“Freezing sperm is one of the measures I have to consider”, he said, via the Associated Press.
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The first athletes are expected to arrive at the village on July 24 ahead of the August 5-21 Olympics.
