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Australian Pharmaceutical Company To Supply Anti-Zika Condoms For Olympics

Australian Pharmaceutical Company To Supply Anti-Zika Condoms For Olympics
Reuters
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Nacho Doce / Reuters

SYDNEY, May 16 (Reuters) - Australian pharmaceutical company Starpharma Holdings Ltd said it is teaming up with world No. 2 condom maker Ansell Ltd to supply Zika virus-proof condoms to the Australian Olympic team ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games.

Starpharma said it is giving the Australian athletes Ansell "Dual Protect" condoms lubricated with Starpharma's VivaGel product, which it recently said showed near-total antiviral protection against Zika and other viruses in laboratory studies.

"Given sexual transmission of Zika virus is of increasing importance, the potent activity of Starpharma's VivaGel against Zika could prove very significant," said Starpharma Chief Executive Officer Jackie Fairley in a statement.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said the Starpharma condoms would be in addition to condoms already shipped to the Olympic village, which will also have free dispensing machines on every block supplying 350,000 male condoms and 100,000 female condoms to athletes.

The AOC dismissed suggestions that athletes returning from Rio should undergo compulsory blood testing. People who follow the recommended precautions have a low risk of Zika and blanket testing "is not aligned with medical or scientific best practice," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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Before You Go

Zika Virus In Brazil
(01 of08)
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In Oct. 2015, Brazil alerted the World Health Organization to a sharp increases of babies born with microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies' heads are abnormally small.

A 4-month-old baby born with microcephaly is held by his mother in front of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil, February 11, 2016. (credit:Nacho Doce / Reuters)
(02 of08)
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Health officials in Brazil suspected that the sharp rise in microcephaly was linked to the country's ongoing Zika virus outbreak -- a mild, mosquito-borne disease that is estimated to have infected as many as 1.5 million people in Brazil.

Physiotherapist Jeime Lara Leal exercises 19-day-old Sophia, who is Ianka Mikaelle Barbosa's second child and was born with microcephaly, at Pedro l Hospital in Campina Grande, Brazil February 18, 2016. (credit:Ricardo Moraes / Reuters)
(03 of08)
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Brazilian health officials soon advised women to delay pregnancy if possible, to prevent microcephaly cases. While they say the link between the two conditions is clear, WHO and other authorities say more research needs to be done before confirming the connection.

Jackeline, 26, uses a green bottle to stimulate to her son Daniel who is 4-months old and born with microcephaly, inside of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil, February 11, 2016. (credit:Nacho Doce / Reuters)
(04 of08)
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The zika virus was first identified in Africa, spread to parts of Asia and then reached the Americas in 2014, researchers suspect. The Aedes mosquito carries the disease.

An aedes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube as part of a research on preventing the spread of the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases at a control and prevention center in Guadalupe, neighbouring Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016. (credit:Daniel Becerril / Reuters)
(05 of08)
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Researchers suspect that the Zika virus is also linked to the spike of a rare, autoimmune disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome that can result in temporary paralysis.

A lab technician analyses blood samples at the 'Sangue Bom' (Good Blood) clinic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 25, 2016. (credit:VANDERLEI ALMEIDA via Getty Images)
(06 of08)
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There is no cure or vaccine for Zika virus. The most reliable way to prevent transmission is to destroy the mosquitos that carry it.

Joseph Blackman, a Miami-Dade County mosquito control inspector, uses a sprayer filled with a pesticide in an attempt to kill mosquitos that are carrying the Zika virus on October 14, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (credit:Joe Raedle via Getty Images)
(07 of08)
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Zika virus is now endemic in dozens of countries and territories. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning to all Americans, and pregnant women in particular, to follow strict guidelines in preventing mosquito bites when traveling to these areas. Pregnant women were also advised to delay travel if possible, while women who want to become pregnant were advised to speak with their healthcare providers before traveling.

An employee of the Health Ministry sprays anti-mosquito fog in an attempt to control dengue fever at a neighborhood in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Risa Krisadhi/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Pacific Press via Getty Images)
(08 of08)
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Several research institutes and companies are now trying to figure out how to create a vaccine for Zika virus. However, it will be years before anyone develops a reliable vaccine, researchers predict.

A nurse from the FioCruz Foundation applies the dengue vaccine to social worker Ana Paula Rocha, 41, who volunteered for the vaccine tests. (credit:NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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