USA Today · May 23, 2016
Senate-USOC exchange concerns, plans about Zika virus in Rio
A group of Democratic senators is concerned about how the Zika virus might affect American athletes at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro later this summer.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., was one of 11 senators to sign a letter sent Monday to the U.S. Olympic Committee asking what steps it is taking to protect athletes against the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
The letter cited recent information from the Centers for Disease Control showing a link between the disease and a birth defect, microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls.