Former world No 1 golfer withdraw from Rio Olympics due to fear of Zika virus

Former world No. 1 golfer, Rory Mcllroy, announced that he would no longer be able to represent Northern Ireland at the games after he sought advice from close associates.

“After speaking with those closest to me, I’ve come to realize that my health, and my family’s health, comes before anything else,” Mcllroy said.

“Even though the risk of infection from the Zika virus is considered low, it is a risk nonetheless, and a risk I am unwilling to take.”

The Zika virus [that currently has no cure] is said to cause microcephaly, especially in babies, whose mothers are infected.

“There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, a director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in April.

“Never before in history has there been a situation where a bite from a mosquito can result in a devastating malformation,” he added after evaluating the evidence at hand.