Australia will give Olympians special condoms to stop spreading Zika
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Australian Olympic officials announced plans to supply their respective athletes with condoms that are designed to block transmission of the Zika virus at this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Zika virus is mainly transmitted by mosquitos but there is also evidence of it being sexually transmitted.
The Australian Olympic team also has an official sponsor for bug spray. Australia's chef de mission Kitty Chiller called the condom distribution a “common sense approach to a very serious problem we are facing in Rio.”
• How Zika is impacting sports and the Olympics
Symptoms for the virus can be mild upon infection but there are greater fears over long-term effects. Research has linked pregnant women and Zika virus to microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to be born with smaller-than-normal heads and could lead to shorter a lifespan.
At the moment, there is no cure for Zika.
Last week, one doctor called for the postponement or cancelation of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to the outbreak that could spread much faster after the Summer Games.
