{"id":78263,"date":"2016-06-13T17:57:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T17:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=78263"},"modified":"2023-04-11T18:44:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T18:44:41","slug":"behind-mic-rio-zika","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-rio-zika\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Rio and Zika"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBC Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie<\/a>, who is expecting her second child, has decided not to attend the Olympics<\/a>.\u00a0 A handful of other NBC employees have also opted not to travel to Rio.\u00a0 NBCUniversal is not requiring any employee to go if they choose not to.\u00a0 Close to 3,000 employees will be part of the Olympic coverage.<\/p>\n

Some US athletes have expressed concern, particularly female athletes, but, so far, not many have pulled out. There are approximately 600 cases of Zika <\/a>in the US right now and those were contracted by citizens who traveled to other countries.\u00a0 So how concerned should the athletes and spectators be?<\/p>\n

In January, the World Health Organization<\/a> declared Zika a global health emergency for pregnant women.\u00a0 As of May, nearly 300 women tested positive for Zika in the US.\u00a0 Just two weeks ago, 200 scientists signed a letter to the World Health Organization strongly suggesting the Games should be moved from Brazil.\u00a0 Other health officials, including those at WHO, say there is not a big enough threat to move the games.<\/p>\n

National Public Radio<\/a> (NPR) charted the odds of an American contracting Zika in Rio compared to other everyday threats.\u00a0 According to their data:<\/p>\n