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Zika Has Baseball Players Concerned About Games in Puerto Rico

The Zika virus has players with the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball teams concerned about a two-game series next month in Puerto Rico.

It’s expected the games will be played as scheduled May 30-31, but the teams, the player union and Major League Baseball are in ongoing discussions about the series, the Associated Press reported.

The health and safety concerns surrounding Zika are serious, union head Tony Clark said.

“We recognize the importance of the trip,” Marlins pitcher Craig Breslow said, the AP reported. “But at the same time, our health and the health of our families is paramount.”

Zika – which can cause a birth defect where infants are born with unusually small heads — is most often spread by mosquitoes, but also can be spread through sexual intercourse. A man exposed to the virus should not have sex or should use condoms if his partner is pregnant, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises.

Breslow noted the CDC also recommends that couples trying to get pregnant should wait six months if the man was diagnosed with Zika or in an area with a Zika outbreak.

“There are guys who are uncomfortable engaging in the lifestyle changes being recommended by the CDC,” he told the AP. “I’m not sure that’s fair to ask of 20- to 30-year-old men who are potentially looking to start families or expand families.”

The union is collecting as much information from experts, according to Clark.

“As is the case with any international event, there are steps that have to be taken procedurally as we work towards a solution,” he wrote in an email to the AP.

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