Study participants will complete health surveys and provide samples of bodily fluids for Zika detection. The project aims to enroll a minimum of 1,000 men and women and will seek to identify infections and risk factors as well as determine how long and where the virus persists in the body particularly in blood, semen, vaginal secretions and saliva.
Catherine Y. Spong, MD, acting director of the NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said, “Zika virus infection poses many unknown risks, especially to those of reproductive age. Monitoring the health and reproductive outcomes of members of the U.S. Olympic team offers a unique opportunity to answer important questions and help address an ongoing public health emergency.”
More articles on the Zika virus:
At-risk communities receive $25M boost from CDC to fight Zika
Number of Zika cases in US nears 1,000; 7 babies born with Zika-related birth defects
Math professors create model to better understand Zika sexual transmission
