NBC host to skip Olympics due to Zika concerns

NBC’s “Today” host Savannah Guthrie is pregnant and will skip coverage of the Olympics in Brazil because of the Zika virus, she announced Tuesday.

{mosads}“I’m not going to be able to go to Rio,” Guthrie said on-air.

“The doctors say that we shouldn’t because of the CDC, because of the Zika virus, so I’ll miss it.”

Brazil is one of many countries in Central and South America that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned pregnant women not to travel to because of Zika. 

The virus poses a particular threat to pregnant women because it can cause serious birth defects, such as microcephaly, a condition in which a baby is born with too small a head, which can lead to serious developmental problems. 

The World Health Organization said last week that it is weighing the risk of holding the Olympics in Brazil as scheduled.

A group of 150 health experts and bioethicists has called for the Olympics to be postponed or moved because of the risk posed by Zika.