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Savannah Guthrie Will Stay Away From Rio Olympics Over Zika Fears

The "Today" anchor is pregnant with her second child.
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By 

Reporter, HuffPost

NBC's “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie announced she is pregnant and will stay behind for the network's coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games due to the Zika virus outbreak.

Guthrie surprised her co-anchors with the announcement she is pregnant with her second child on Tuesday. The studio erupted in applause and colleagues hugged her before she revealed that she wouldn't travel to Rio de Janeiro, where a series of Zika virus cases have been reported.

"The doctors say that we shouldn't [go] because of the Zika virus," she said. “You're going to have to go to female beach volleyball without me!"

Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly -- a birth defect that causes abnormally small heads -- in babies born to mothers who are infected with the disease.

Guthrie will instead continue to anchor from the U.S. "We're going to be in the height of campaign season," she added.

Brazil, while also in the midst of dealing with political and economic turmoil, is struggling to convince travelers that proper precautions are in place to minimize the risk of contracting Zika.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised pregnant women against traveling to Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics in February.

However, the World Health Organization said last month that it did not recommend postponing or canceling the Games.

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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