Kenya may pull out of Olympics over zika virus

Kenya has threatened to pull its elite runners and other athletes out of the Rio Olympics unless it got assurances they would not be exposed to the zika outbreak in Brazil.

Sports authorities across the world are scrambling to find out more about the mosquito-borne virus as they make plans for the games.

“Obviously, we are not going to risk taking Kenyans there if this zika virus reaches epidemic levels,” said the head of Kenya’s Olympics committee, Kipchoge Keino.

“They have to assure us that the country is safe enough to take athletes there.”

Kenya was expected to be one of the star nations at Rio, fielding some of the best middle and long-distance runners in the world.

The east African nation topped the medals table at the 2015 World Championships.

Mr Keino, himself a Kenyan running great, said his office has been in touch with Olympics organisers to voice their concerns.

“We have made it clear that unless they clean the venues of this potentially dangerous disease, we will not go there,” said the chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, who is a two-time Olympic gold medallist.

“But if they assure us that things are in order and there is no risk to participants, mothers, we will go.”

The World Health Organization declared an international health emergency on February 1 over the outbreak, that authorities fear is linked to a rise in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by an abnormally small head.